The exhibition, under the subject “affect and effect,” is part of the “Jeddah Ghair” summer festival. The festival features three one-week exhibitions under the following themes: Graffiti and wall art, collages and photography.
Red Sea Marketing Company organized the competition in cooperation with Nayel Art. “Our role is not to focus on economic activities only, we have expanded our scope to include social activities,” said Hussam Al-Qurashi, vice president of marketing and corporate communication for Red Sea.
The exhibition, he said, is primarily to support cultural, literary, and art activities and to give a new generation the opportunity to express their views in different ways.
“Red Sea Mall is one of the key destinations in Jeddah and an important tourist attraction,” said Al-Qurashi. “Therefore we are supporting Makkah Municipality’s agenda in making Jeddah an attractive tourist destination. We are contributing financially and by facilitating these events. We are looking to attract tourists and improve the economy of the region. It is a long-term investment rather than short-term.”
“We launch a daily drawing competition for young people and kids as well. Women, men and even families can compete in this event,” he added.
According to Al-Qurashi, expressing art is a form of expression, and helps act as a release for youths and kids. “We are targeting different families from a variety of backgrounds. We focus on art to help people express themselves, their views of Jeddah, and their views of life,” he said. “We are focusing on entertainment. We are not in a situation to address problems in Jeddah. We try to entertain tourists with different themes.”
Owner of Nayel Art said collage techniques were relatively new in the Kingdom.
“The idea is considered new and original. We are focusing this week on the collage art. People that prefer to use collage techniques are participating greatly,” said Nayel Mulla.
“We are interested in having special exhibitions for the painters and artists. At the same time, we want to plan our cultural activities by launching such exhibitions and art competitions at malls.”
Fatimah Ba-Azeem, an artist and one of the organizers, said the exhibition was aimed at improving the artists’ talents. “We have arranged several workshops to interact with the participants as well as people who are interested in learning certain types of art,” she said. The competition calls on each painter to use collage techniques to draw Jeddah from his or her perspective.
Ibrahim Al-Farshodi, a Saudi mechanical engineer and budding artist, was participating for the first time. “I am focusing on Jeddah from the perspectives of the young, middle and older generations. I am drawing old buildings and new buildings to symbolize the past and future. There will be a bridge linking the two important sides of Jeddah,” he said. “I’ve used old stones, papers, magazines, and newspapers instead of colors.”
Children and their families also participated in the event.
“My daughter Arwa prefers to draw, which is why I encouraged her to participate today. She thought about drawing Jeddah from her point of view. She will use colored paper to reflect her idea about Jeddah’s colors,” said Maya Al-Hussein, the mother of a budding artist.
Young girls participated in the competition, as well as boys.
“I am drawing an image about Jeddah from my point of view. For example, I will draw a bride to portray Jeddah as the Red Sea bride,” said Rinad Mohammed, a secondary school student. Rinad added that this was not her major, but she hopes to continue learning art.
Hanaf Khan graduated from King Abdulaziz University’s Islamic art department and was looking to develop her skills and enrich her experience by participating in the competition. “I am trying my best to develop my skills and have participated in several art exhibitions and competitions. The absence of active art exhibitions in the Kingdom encouraged me to participate in each event,” said Khan.
“I am getting a photo for each district in the old historical city. By using special materials I will make the picture a vivid one. I chose the old historical city because I want officials to discover the beauty of this area and develop it. Old Jeddah is considered a marvelous historical area that should be developed to support tourism.”
Samah Kamel, daughter of the artist Hashem Kamel, was inspired to participate by an old photo taken by her father depicting Jeddah in an artistic fashion. She will write the word “Jeddah” on a backdrop of the original photo. “Although all participants will have the word Jeddah in their work, the final creation will make each art work different than the other,” she said.
