Fatima Ba'azim, who was part of a group of around 30 artists and photographers that helped inaugurate an art exhibition at the Red Sea Mall in Jeddah, said that due to the small exhibition space they could only exhibit a sample of their work.
They are hoping to sell their work for between SR600 to SR15,000 apiece. The exhibition, called “Jeddah — the Grandmother,” aimed to display the city’s historic side. However, there were other works that did not conform to this theme. Ba'azim said this was because they had to arrange the exhibition within two days.
Ba'azim, who has been an artist for 13 years, managed to persuade the mall to let them exhibit for free. However, she said she received no support from the Arts and Culture Association
“The Arts and Culture Association itself needs support. I have called them number of times but they tell me they themselves need help,” she said. Ba'azim added that the association has its own schedule that it is not willing to defer from.
The Ministry of Culture and Information holds arts and culture events at the King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center in Abrouq Al-Raghama, southeast of Jeddah.
“I would love to have an exhibition at the King Abdul Aziz cultural center but its location is not really accessible for a large number of people,” explained Ba'azim.
Abdullah, a young man who has been a photographer for two years, said he trains himself by going online and looking for courses that he can take.
“I speak to photographers that I know. We critique our shots and give each other advice,” he said.
“We have created our own groups and clubs but they are not official. There is basically no support. There has once been an association for Saudi photographers but it was closed down because of internal conflicts and we lost out because of that.”
There is an increasing awareness of art among the public said Ba'azim, adding that artists are encouraging this by organizing their own events in malls.
"Most people don't want to go to personal organized art exhibitions, but will show up if they are in a mall. The culture of admiring art indoors is still not established."
She called on the younger generation not get depressed and stop their work because of a lack of support. Ba’azim added that it was difficult for women photographers to visit particular areas such as the Al-Sabil district of Jeddah.
"The only occasion when our cameras were welcomed was during the Jeddah flooding catastrophe, when people were calling us to take photos of their suffering," she said.
Managing director of Al-Maghrabi Hospitals Motasim Ali Rida promised to support artists and photographers at the exhibition through their corporate social responsibility program, pledging to buy their work and displaying them at the company’s hospitals.
