I see myself wearing many hats, so I think the defining moment in the art field was when I had my first exhibition, Doors of Barlik with Athr Gallery in 2016, and a career-defining moment in the exhibition and art-management fields was when I got appointed by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Salman as the director of Madinah Art Center.

Artworks from the private collections of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and prominent collectors in the UAE will go on view this year as part of the Dubai Collection initiative.

Sheikh Mohammed's collection includes a work by Baya, as well as works by Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rais and Syrian artist Fateh Moudarres. Sheikha Latifa's collection, meanwhile, has works by Shaikha Al Mazrou, who is from the UAE, and Yagiz Ozgen from Turkey.

In addition, a total of 19 works from the corporate collection of ARM Holding have been added, with listed creations by Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Lamya Gargash, Moath Alofi and Rathin Barman.

The Saudi Art Council launched on Wednesday launched its eighth iteration of the 21,39 Jeddah Arts exhibition, titled The Secrets of Alidades. Curated by French academic Fabien Danesi, the event is showing the works of 35 artists and celebrates the theme of the universe by taking visitors on an interstellar journey. It had initially been set to open to the public in March, but was delayed owing to the pandemic.

Saudi artist and explorer Moath Alofi says his work is an extended message from the past to explore the beauty and treasures of the kingdom.

Basmah Felemban, also from Saudi Arabia, created a sonic getaway with an interactive video game installation titled The Jirri Tribe Stop (2021). It took her two years to develop the game centred on the main characters, which are catfish that try to maintain the sea's balance.

Moving away from his familiar calligraphy this year, Nasser Al Salem, from Jeddah, created his first sculpture, The First Space Shuttle, 2019-201, inspired by nomads who used tents as their habitat, but borrowing from the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule design. “This idea of mobility creates a link between nomadic Bedouins and astronauts in their use of space and their engagement with nature,” Al Salem says.

Misk Art Institute (MAI), under the auspices of the Misk Foundation established by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has launched Imprint, a photography, film and digital exhibition (Oct. 4, 2020 — Jan. 28, 2021).

Curated by Latifa Abdul Rahman Al Khalifa and featuring the works of 17 Saudi and Gulf artists, the show is being held at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Fine Arts Gallery (or Masaha, meaning ‘space’ in Arabic), established in 1985 in Riyadh as a governmental hall dedicated to fine arts. It was renovated by MAI and reopened in 2019.

Curator David Drake guides us through his exhibition of 15 artists from the UK and the Gulf, who explore the deceptively simple theme of home

For some people, home is defined by the place they were born, in the proximity of their friends and family, while for others, it is an adopted place – one where they have built an affinity with the land and its cultural identity. Some may consider home as a more concrete fact that relates to their ethnicity or cultural background, and in the eyes of governing bodies, home may be defined as the place listed as your current place of residence in your official documents. But for an Egyptian taxi driver, who curator David Drake encountered during one of his visits to Kuwait, home is the smell of orange blossom, which grows every summer in the village where he grew up. 

دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة (CNN)-- مجموعة صور فوتوغرافية، تكمن تفاصيل جمالها في سكونها، وسورياليتها، وروحانيتها.. مساجد تاريخية تجدها على طرق مختلفة، تربط بين مدن المملكة العربية السعودية، كانت قد دفعت المصور السعودي، معاذ العوفي، أن يطرح على نفسه ألف سؤال وسؤال، حول سبب بنائها وهجرها.

وفي حديثه مع موقع CNN بالعربية، قال معاذ العوفي: "الهدف هو إعادة التفكير في الاحتياجات الضرورية لبناء هذه المساجد وتنظيمها بشكل مدروس، بهدف ألّا تتعرض للهجر والتدمير، وأن تُبنى بشكل مستدام إذا دعت الحاجة".

Moath Alofi (Saudi Arabia)

Born in Medina in 1984, Moath is an artist, researcher, explorer and certified tour guide of the Madina region. The Last Tashahhud is a photographic documentation capturing deserted mosques scattered along the winding roads leading to the holy city of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah.

Abi Green (with Sebastian Betancur-Montoya) (UK/Doha)

Abi is a still life photographer and art director based between the UK and the GCC. Born and raised in London, she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Photography from Middlesex University. Her projects carefully balance minimalism with a graphic, colourful aesthetic resulting in her unique style. 

RIYADH: “We wish to open new horizons toward understanding the artistic aspects surrounding us and use them to enrich the local creative content as well as the Saudi art scene,” said Reem Sultan, CEO of Misk, referring to Misk Art, a festival dedicated to the creative arts in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Misk Art presents a fair-like setup of local and international galleries, art exhibitions, workshops and talks with the aim to empower local artists and raise community awareness about the power of creativity.

Titled “Experiment 0.3,” the third edition of Misk Art focused on how the act of experimenting through critique and research empowers creativity and the local art scene.

JEDDAH: From New York to Paris and from Barcelona to Beirut, Saudi artists are being given a great opportunity to further their knowledge and experience, as well as explore new ideas. Jeddah’s Athr Gallery, a strong supporter of contemporary art, is sending established Saudi artists to cities around the world for inspiration and self-challenge.

The art-residency program, entitled “Out of Place,” began as an open invitation to all Saudi-based artists during Athr’s 10th-anniversary exhibition.
“The title refers to the notion of home and comfort zones, both of which get shaken when artists root themselves in a new city and environment for a residency program,” Alia Fattouh, director of Athr Gallery, told Arab News.

The main goal of an art-residency program is to inspire and broaden the horizons of those taking part, by allowing them to experience art and culture in different contexts.