Скачать или смотреть Saudi artists tackle social issues

(31 Mar 2014) LEADIN:
Contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia are finding fame by pushing the boundaries and tackling serious social issues.
And now some of their work is travelling beyond the kingdom's borders, with exhibitions currently being held in Dubai.
STORYLINE:
Treasured art pieces from Saudi Arabia's thriving art scene.
Here at the Ayyam Gallery in Dubai, they're exhibiting work by Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem.
This month, collectors rushed to the city's annual Art Dubai to pick up a piece by the artist.
But within minutes of doors opening, his 12-piece collection - exhibited by the Ayyam Gallery - was scooped up by one collector for a price tag of well over $1 million USD.
That's nothing out of the ordinary for Gharem.
In 2011, one of his pieces sold through Christie's Dubai went for more than $840,000 USD to an Iranian investor.
It's a sign of the dramatic rise of Saudi modern art on the global scene, but also of its artists who are on the front lines pushing the kingdom's censorship red lines through modern art works that tackle taboo topics like religion and women's rights.
The kingdom's modern art scene has become a platform for Saudi artists - like Gharem and others - to voice their frustration with the kingdom's ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam and their country's most sensitive issues without coming into direct friction with its rulers.
They say their art is reaching the public in new ways.
At the Dubai-based gallery 'Cuadro', they're exhibiting a collection by Saudi artist Manal Al Dowayan, named "Crash."
This collection focuses on Saudi news clippings about the deaths of Saudi women teachers in car crashes whose names are never mentioned in the articles - leaving them nameless and anonymous.
The artist says the collection is aimed at magnifying these women's deaths in order to humanise them.
It's also said to be a subtle critique of the ways in which Saudi women are rendered voiceless in life and in death.
The burgeoning art scene in Saudi Arabia is centred in the western city of Jeddah, where several galleries have sprung up in recent years, showcasing the works of artists in a country where art is not taught in public schools.
The city is also home to hundreds of public sculptures by world-renowned artists.
"It's vibrant, it's creative. It's grassroots, it's very interesting, it's very young," says Manal Al Dowayan.
"Although we do have a history of modern art but contemporary art is the new movement that's happening within youth. It's centred in one region because of their history, which is the western region region, Jeddah."
At The Ayyam Gallery in Dubai, Founder Khaled Samawi says he noticed a growing appetite for contemporary art out of Saudi Arabia and opened what he claims is the first foreign-owned art gallery last year in Jeddah.
He says he initially they faced challenges to importing artworks.
"Initially we had an incident where a lot of works were censored," he says.
"Recently, we've had no works censored even though what we show in Saudi Arabia is the same as what we show in Dubai or what we show in London or what we show in Beirut. We represent the same artists in all our locations and we don't change programming based on which location we are in."
In Saudi Arabia, all public artworks must be approved by the Culture Ministry.
Samawi was censored once by authorities, but he says attitudes have now started to change.
Artists still struggle with navigating the well-known redlines in Saudi Arabia.
As Saudi artists become more internationally recognised, wealthy Saudis are helping back them financially.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...