Jeddah honors renowned sculptors

Eminent international sculptors Talal Al-Tokhais from Saudi Arabia, Ahmad Keshta from Spain and Tamer Ragab from Egypt were honored on the concluding day of the first 20-day Saudi Contemporary Sculpture Symposium.
Saud Al-Shakhi, general manager at the Ministry of Culture and Information’s Makkah branch, and Sami Nawar, general director for culture and media and official speaker for the city of Jeddah on behalf of Hani Abu Ras, honored the artists for their outstanding work.
The symposium, organized jointly by Arabian Wings, Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) and the Jeddah Municipality, was launched on Oct. 17 as an open-air show featuring the works of the three emerging sculptors.
Al-Shakhi said the Ministry of Culture and Information unequivocally supports events that promote Saudi culture and traditions.
“I am proud of the work of our Saudi and international artists. I can see that the event has established the culture of Jeddah to promote culture and traditions of the Kingdom with both public and private sectors discharging their social responsibility by participating in it,” he said.
Al-Shakhi expressed hope that more local businessmen would come forward to fulfill their social responsibilities.
“I am happy to see the work of Egyptian, Spanish and Saudi artists, and I am especially proud that the work of Saudi Arabia’s son has proved to be of such high standard. The ministry will continue to support Saudi artists and promote them at national and international levels,” he added.
Sami Nawar, on behalf of the mayor of Jeddah and city of Jeddah, congratulated the artists and Arabian Wings for the initiative they had undertaken to promote Saudi culture and encourage upcoming artists.
“We are very pleased to have hosted this symposium, as Jeddah is a city of monuments and these sculptures will be given a special place by the mayor,” he said.
Nawar also thanked ALJCI, Arabian Wings, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the artists and officials from the municipality for their participation and initiative.
He said that the mayor was working hard to develop Jeddah into a modern city thriving in culture, tradition and history.
“Jeddah is a city of sculptures, created by a wide array of local and international artists, and it’s the tradition of Jeddah to welcome international artists and their talent, so we would like to invite other international artists to Jeddah to come and work with Saudi artists and display their talents,” he added.
Najla Felemban, founder of Arabian Wings, said the symposium may have come to an end, but new cultural projects would soon be introduced.
Abdullah Tazi from the Society of Art and Culture, Riyan Siga, Hani Hamad, Faris bin Afeef, Ziyad bin Afeef, Mohammed Sagaf, Wisam Bahrawi, Nabil Bahrawi were also honored along with the artists for their support and help during the event.