The salon has always had a powerful place as a venue for learning and the exchange of new ideas. In Ancient Greece, Socrates held a salon and throughout history, royalty have always made artists and intellectuals welcome at their salons at court. Salons, also known as “alternative courts,” became the rage in France, particularly in the 18th century during the time of the Enlightenment.
Although the leading figures of the Enlightenment were men, it was primarily independently wealthy women, who through their salons, supported the arts including music, poetry, painting, politics, philosophy or whatever the interest of the day might be. The Enlightenment salons were a means to help artists, who lacked mass market appeal, earn a living and bring their work and thoughts to an appreciative audience in an enjoyable, intimate setting.
Here in Saudi Arabia, the concept of the salon is alive and thriving — with a twist. In the Kingdom, wealthy women are hosting gatherings for struggling female artists and intellectuals. Male artists must look for patronage elsewhere. In the Eastern Province, the salon of Sarah Al-Khathlan, “Al-Arba’aeyat,” has just celebrated its seventh anniversary.
According to Al-Khathlan, Al-Arba’aeyat started with just eight or nine women filled with passion and energy for all that is noble and good. A mother of nine, Al-Khathlan is an artist herself, with six books of poetry to her credit. She is now working on a history of women as heads of state.
“I started this salon because I want to encourage poets, writers, painters and other artists,” explained Al-Khathlan. “With the coming of education for all Saudis, we now have many talented women among us. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that here in the Eastern Province we were producing many artists. I came to believe that this was because we weren’t giving women encouragement to develop their talents. At Al-Arba’aeyat, young girls have the opportunity to let others hear their poetry and see their paintings. They are exposed to the ideas of other intelligent women and this helps them to have the desire to achieve.”
Last Wednesday evening, Al-Arba’aeyat was the gathering place for approximately 50 women. There were several poetry readings. Hilda Ismail, read her poem about jealousy. Dr. Salwa Abu Arab recited passionate verse about leaving everything for love. The audience listened as Sulafa spoke about the feelings of mothers seeing their children graduate. Several authors brought copies of their newly published books to distribute to their fans in the group. One painter even brought small, completed canvases, which were passed from hand to hand around the room.
The main guest was Dr. Khariya Al-Saggaf who traveled from Riyadh where she is on the staff of King Saud University and is also active in the oversight of the ladies’ section of the King Abdul Aziz Library. Al-Saggaf spoke about the means Saudi women are using to obtain and develop their culture. She gave examples of how local universities, libraries, salons and charity organizations are being accessed by Saudi women as cultural resources. Al-Saggaf stated that the coming of literacy and the development of technology has given Saudi women the opportunity to develop their talents as never before, but the desire to take advantage of these resources is something that still must come from within the individual. Taking questions from the audience after her presentation, the academician was asked if she thought that men were holding Saudi women back from success. Al-Saggaf replied: “In my experience, if a woman truly wants to succeed nothing will stop her.”
At dinner, following the conclusion of the salon’s program, Dr. Salwa Abu Arab said that she was delighted to read her poetry at Al-Arba’aeyat because it was one of the first opportunities she had been given to share her talents since her arrival in Saudi Arabia. Abu Arab works as a general practitioner in Al-Qateef, but she explained that poetry, not medicine, was her passion.
“I started writing poetry in secondary school and I have published four books in Egypt,” Abu Arab remarked. “I need to write or I feel like I am not alive. I actually took this job in Saudi Arabia because I hoped I would have more time to work on my poetry. I know that sounds strange, because Saudis have the idea that in Egypt we have more opportunities to express ourselves. That is true, but it is also true that there is less time to create art. Here in Saudi Arabia the economy is better so women don’t have to work so hard just to eat. Many of them have housemaids, too. This gives them the time and peace of mind to develop their art.”
A compendium has recently been published on the activities of Al-Arba’aeyat over the past seven years. Leafing through it, Sarah Al-Shehail, one of the regular attendees at the salon, said: “I am proud that we have created a gathering like this one. In Saudi Arabia, women don’t have places to share their ideas, their writing, or their art. Every time I come here, I see and hear something new. I remember some of the artists I met here years ago. Their faces were so young and shy. They were afraid to recite their poetry and hesitant to let us see their paintings. Now some of them have become well known. It is a joy to be part of the development of such talent, even in a small way.”
Al-Arba’aeyat has not been without its critics, but Al-Khathlan has always had her own views on the best ways to encourage ideas and talent, and she has never wavered in these beliefs.
“Sarah always listens to everyone and gives people a chance to speak, even when she doesn’t agree with them,” said Dr. Omayma Al-Jalama, a long-time supporter of Al-Arba’aeyat. “Also, she is always looking to the future and so she gives many unknown artists a chance to have their talents on display at her salon. Some more famous names in the society told her that this was not a good idea and that Sarah shouldn’t bring beginners — it was a waste of time. But Sarah disagreed and I think she has done the right thing in mixing established and new talents. Everyone wants to come here now. This has created a window, an opening, for the older artists to try something new and for the new artists to have an opportunity. Best of all it gives everyone at the gathering a chance to feel mentally refreshed and intellectually challenged. This is what our society needs.”
