Cultural Week in Greece showcases rich Saudi heritage

RIYADH: Selected works by some of the Saudi artists participating in the inaugural edition of Art Week Riyadh, which begins April 6. 

Maha Malluh 

‘X-Rayed 1’ 

The Najd-born artist is one of the most significant figures in the Kingdom’s contemporary scene. Several of her works will be on show at AWR. This one comes from her “X-Rayed” series, in which Malluh used images from an actual x-ray scanner of an actual passenger’s luggage, as would be seen at airport security when possessions are “being targeted and scrutinized,” the artist has written. “What makes these images even more peculiar is that the suitcases contain cassettes (labeled in Arabic) that are linked to dogmatic interpretations of Islamic practice,” she continued. “It is these ideas, when exported, which have led to several social evils, including the export of extreme thinking and rigid philosophy.” Like many of Malluh’s other series, “X-Rayed” examines “my own culture and its transformation from tradition to modernity.” 

Lulwah Al-Homoud 

From ‘The Language of Existence’ 

This work forms part of the influential Riyadh-born artist and calligrapher’s “The Language of Existence” series, in which she presented interpretations of the myriad Arabic names of Allah. According to her gallery, it “reimagines language as a universal visual system, transcending conventional meaning to create a new form of communication.” Al-Homoud created this ‘language’ by “deconstructing the letters of the Arabic language by using mathematical squares to compose new codes for each letter. With these codes, I inscribe the 99 names of God,” she has written. “The first step towards enlightenment is to search for the inner. It is this inner truth that leads to the light of knowledge. My art is concerned with the inner veracity of everything. It is a deep look at creation and its hidden rules that led me to the truth of existence…” 

Ahmed Mater 

‘Hulm’ (Dream) 

In his 2011 work “Cowboy Code II,” Ahmed Mater used plastic gun powder caps glued onto a wooden board to spell out, in English, the various ‘rules’ he had imagined. In this more recent work, Mater uses the same technique to present the Arabic word hulm, which translates to ‘dream.’ Whether that’s an instruction, a comment on what visitors to Riyadh can experience, or an explanation of his inspiration for the piece is unclear, but it’s one of a number of similar works the 45-year-old Tabuk native — arguably the most influential Saudi contemporary artist — will be presenting at AWR (others include “Hurriya” (Freedom) and “Salam” (Peace)).  

Manal AlDowayan 

‘Totem 1 (Dearest Women)’ 

The prolific Dhahran-born artist represented the Kingdom at the Venice Biennale last year (with “Shifting Sands: A Battle Song) and, unsurprisingly, is participating in perhaps the most significant arts event yet to take place in the Kingdom. Among several of her works on display at AWR is this piece from 2018, which AlDowayan has described as “an attempt at creating a permanent memorial of a fragmented moment.”  

She continued: “I look at the symbols used on the covers of books written by the religious men to address women and their bodies. I attempt to reform the symbols into new representations so that the invisible becomes visible.” The work is not, she stressed, “an attempt to critique or analyze history, but more of a totem of healing to help resolve the past in order to engage with the present, and time in general.” 

Bashaer Hawsawi 

‘Warm Space 1’ 

Much of the Jeddah-based visual artist’s practice revolves around found objects and mixed media, exploring, according to theartists.net “notions of cultural identity, cleansing, belonging and nostalgia.” Cleansing is the focus of this piece, which — like several other works by Hawsawi — uses the red-bristled broom heads familiar to anyone living in the Gulf and indicative of the remembered daily routines from which Hawsawi draws inspiration for much of her work. Cleansing also carries a spiritual symbolism — the purification of the self — that features regularly in Hawsawi’s work. 

RIYADH: The inaugural Art Week Riyadh begins April 6 in the Kingdom’s capital. A non-commercial initiative, AWR builds on the city’s already thriving art community while inviting international artists and art lovers to join in. 

Princess Adwaa bint Yazeed bin Abdullah, head of Art Week Riyadh, explained the event’s inspirations and goals in a statement, writing: “Art Week Riyadh is born from a belief in the power of art to inspire, challenge, and connect us. Riyadh has long been a city of growth, and through this platform we hope to contribute to its cultural future — one that is open, dynamic and deeply rooted in both heritage and innovation.” 

Curator Vittoria Mataresse heads a team including associate curators Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit-Lelandais and public program curator Shumon Basar who have worked tirelessly across multiple time zones over several months to bring the event to life. 

“It was very important for us to be playful and not have the kind of rigid structure or format we’re used to seeing. Art Week Riyadh sits in between an exhibition and an art fair. It’s really a constellation of events,” Matarrese tells Arab News. “Unlike major art events that often impose universal themes and rely on globally established artists, we wanted to work within the frame of a regional art ecosystem, embracing the textures, the urgencies, the sensibilities of the Arabian Peninsula. We are trying to retrace something which is very specific and, in this way, we propose a critical departure (from the normal) format.” 

The theme of AWR’s inaugural edition is “At the Edge” and the event brings together more than 45 galleries from the Kingdom, the wider Arab world, and beyond. There are three main sub-themes: “Everyday Life,” “Landscapes,” and “Motifs.”  

JAX District in Diriyah will host three major exhibitions offering an expansive insight into Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity. A number of established Saudi artists whose studios are based in JAX will also be opening their doors to the public. Meanwhile, in central Riyadh, more than 15 galleries housed in the Al-Mousa Center will present exhibitions, and a wider program across the city will feature several talks and collaborations.  

Gandit-Lelandais, who has worked in the region for more than two decades focusing on contemporary Arab art, tells Arab News: “Art Week Riyadh really is different, because the market and the ecosystem is different. I think it’s about making people stop implementing the European and American formats into different places because they don’t have to fit — the format can be adapted.” 

The team have designed the event as “an umbrella for everyone to gather under,” Gandit-Lelandais says. “It is inclusive and it’s meant to be niche — it is for the public, and for the art enthusiasts and for the collectors. 

“With Riyadh growing so fast, the kind of dialogues that we have built are so important to bring people here, but not with a Western look at how art should be,” she adds. 

Harasani, the lone Saudi in the curatorial team, tells Arab News: “I’m really excited to link our local artists and our local scene (with the world). I think an educational foundation is super-exciting and super-necessary at this time for artists, art practitioners, young collectors and everyone that comes under that umbrella. We wanted to allow these generations of artists from Saudi Arabia to narrate themselves, beyond the usual framework.” 

While none of the curators live in Riyadh, they all offer a nuanced and sensitive take on the capital.  

“I’ve been working in Riyadh so much that it does feel like a second home,” Harasani says. “Riyadh is culturally different from Jeddah, where I’m from, and it was interesting to delve into the art scene. I thought it would be similar to the Hajazi scene, but it’s completely different. It was a massive learning experience for me to see that — given that we’re all from Saudi — there are so many different ways of working, ways of producing, ways of communicating.” 

Riyadh’s rapid expansion, both physically and culturally, over the past decade contributes to the richness and diversity on show at AWR, the curators say. 

“That’s the beauty of the Middle East, 10 years here is 100 years elsewhere,” Matarrese says. “I think what’s really smart about what Saudi is doing right now is they’ve learned from other people’s mistakes and they’re looking at how to navigate this in a better way. 

“There’s one thing that is important in the DNA of what we are doing,” she continues. “Our visitors are not going to know what to expect. We really pushed the boundaries of what this could be showing; we are trying to deconstruct the conventional display models, to experiment with something else and re-articulate the dialogue between the different parts of the art world.” 

For Harasani, the event is another marker of the artistic progress that has been made in the Kingdom in recent years. 

“This did not exist when I was growing up,” she says. “The fact that we can see our dreams come to fruition now — and (see) bigger projects like Art Week Riyadh — I feel very lucky and privileged to be a part of that.”