Some artists chose to draw Jeddah, while others drew their name or a welcoming for the return of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah after being away from the Kingdom for treatment.
“The expo is displaying more than 33 artworks from different art schools where participants choose their mediums. This is a good opportunity for the youth to show their art, especially since this form of “street art” is not allowed to be done here in the streets,” said Saudi artist and organizer of the competition, Fatima Ba-Azeem.
The competition, which kicked off early March and continues till March 18, aims to promote young Saudi artists by organizing meetings with companies, such as advertisement companies, that are looking to cooperate with those artists. It also aims to promote Arabic calligraphy.
“That is why we are displaying several works such as caricature illustration, photography, animation, street art, and graphic design,” said Ba-Azeem. “Every year, we arrange this exhibition to discover young artists and give them the opportunity to promote their artwork. Some of the participating artists are contributing for the first time while others have long experience in this field.”
According to Ba-Azeem, many companies called her and Red Sea mall to cooperate with the artists and give them projects to work on. “Red Sea mall took this initiative in order to promote the artists and give them the opportunity to interact with the people without being afraid of receiving professional criticism,” she said.
Abdullah Ghulman, a 13-year-old Saudi boy, is a fifth time participant in the competition. He presented a drawing on a three meters canvas. “I drew a picture of Jeddah’s beauty to showcase the positive side of Jeddah. The pictures will be used on the mall’s outside walls,” he said, adding that he practiced at Twelve-Art Club in order to develop his skills.
Hisham Raddada, a 22-year-old Saudi, studied map drawings at King Abdulaziz University. He said he benefits from local art workshops and the chance to display his work, as it is difficult to find a venue.
“I am always searching for art exhibitions to participate in, and I’ve already participated in previous exhibitions at Red Sea Mall,” said Raddada. “In my artwork, I wrote ‘Jeddah the Bride’ in graffiti and colored it with several colors that are associated with Jeddah.”
Mazen Al-Shumrani is another graffiti artist who studied electricity. “I shifted from electricity to graffiti since last year, as I enjoy it more. Facebook helps me to contact the art expo here in Red Sea mall,” he said. “I drew the king’s picture to say ‘welcome back’ and chose the colors green, white and black to symbolize the Kingdom’s flag.”
He added: “Those exhibitions promoted us. I have received many offers from companies and people to paint their offices, homes and projects.”
Mohammed Dous is a Saudi accountant and artist who chose to participate for the first time in this competition.
“I started drawing graffiti since a year ago. Today, I drew my name to express my style and feelings through the form and colors that I chose. I used many colors that symbolize my love of life, which typically expresses my character,” he said.