The British-Council photographic exhibition “My Father’s House” recently opened at the King Abdul Aziz National Museum in Riyadh after a successful showing in Jeddah. The exhibition, on a one-year tour of the Middle East, has been to Oman and Bahrain and, after Riyadh, moves to the UAE and Qatar.
“The name reflects the soul of the exhibition as it examines the influence of architecture on cultural heritage and aims to stimulate debate on the role buildings play in shaping a nation’s culture” says Adrian Chadwick, Director & Cultural Counselor, adding that all societies are looking for rapid development of which may lead to overlooking certain cultural values.
“My Father’s House” uses architecture as a central motif to explore the role of heritage in defining cultural identity and “is a way to share common interests of preserving cultures and traditions with the UK” explains Chadwick, as well as introducing photographs of the region reflecting the area’s rich culture.
Chadwick expressed his personal appreciation to the efforts made in the region to preserve the heritage as he was in the Kingdom 11 years ago and now notices the efforts to stimulate debate about taking care of a country’s heritage.
The exhibition is part of the British Council’s goal to demonstrate the role of cultural relations in raising awareness, building understanding, creating opportunities and improving trust between countries of the Middle East and the UK.
Five emerging Middle East artists and three UK photographers — including the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2007, Tim Hetherington — will use large-scale photography, audio-visual media and film to examine how the built environment reflects the people, the community, society and the nations of the Middle East.
The artists used still photographic work (still- and -moving image) showing how society shapes and expresses its identity through the built environment.
It also examines the images that the fast-growing Gulf states are creating for themselves through their architectural heritage and how the built environment reflects the people, their community, society and the nation.
“Coincidence and appeal is behind choosing various forms of photography to reflect ideas,” says Chadwick.
The exhibition will be the center piece of the ‘My Father’s House’ project which includes related activities for the general public such as an online photography competition, a photographic treasure hunt for families, workshops for emerging and professional photographers, talks by the exhibition’s artists, seminars and conferences on architecture and heritage, educational packs and events for schools and colleges.
Samer Sabil, Project Manager Creativity, has collaborated with Dr Abdullah Al Saud, General Manager of the National Museum, to conduct a ‘Look and Find: Architectural Heritage Tour’ activity. It aims at increasing awareness of heritage and the history of old buildings.
Families are encouraged to search for clues to find these places in order to solve the puzzles they have been given. The clues and sites have been selected by the British Council from different galleries inside the National Museum.
Cultural heritage and architecture are the symbols of our identity. In this collaboration between Middle East and UK artists ‘My Father’s House’ asks us: How do we see where we live,” said Hannah Henderson, Regional Creativity Manager in the Middle East.
Plans are underway for the exhibition to be shown in the UK following its year-long Middle East tour.
Wed Abduljawad was inspired by her grandmother’s old stories.
Combining old stories with old places through an old pin-hole camera, Wed told the story of old Jeddah as it had never been told before. “When I was approached by the British Council to participate in ‘My Father’s House,’ I found in it a great way to reconnect with my roots and to learn more about the city I have grown up in and related to my grandmother’s and father’s stories about people and traditions,” says Wed.
Returning after 6 years in the US doing postgraduate studies in fine art and photography, Wed scrutinized Jeddah’s historic areas with an old pin-hole camera.
Audio-visually she managed to reflect on the charm of traditional story-telling, as you can hear recordings of personal recollections by inhabitants, see the traditional architecture of Jeddah, and re-live the traditions told about in three different ways.
