Art Jameel is celebrating the first annual exhibition at the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Jeddah on Tuesday. The exhibition marks the end of the first one-year program of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts. The exhibition is displaying final projects of 18 participants who worked for a month on a single piece, drawing on the different modules and crafts they have explored throughout the year, each creating a major work of art in the language of the traditional arts. The exhibition will run until June 15. Fady Mohammed Jameel, president of Art Jameel, explained, "We are thrilled to be able to celebrate the first Annual Exhibition at the Jameel House of Traditional Arts, Jeddah. Art Jameel's role is to support arts, education and heritage in the Middle East, and this exhibition is a platform to do just that. The fact that it showcases local talent and is taking place in Jeddah, our home city, fills me with immense pride." The participating artisans include Bahaa Abolenin, Denise Aboushoushah, Sahrish Ali, Rana Amoudi, Yusra Alanesi, Rania Badrig, Eman Albanjari, Salwa Bashammakh, Stephanie Delfour Berroche, Dania Gazzaz, Haneen Alhamdan, Afraa Alhazmi, Hanaan Jamal, Bayan Makki, Noura Almalouh, Carla Roma, Deema Sharbatly, and Deema Showail. The works on display reflect the diversity of media — woodwork, ceramics, painting and gypsum, and projects from miniatures and tiles to clocks, tables and games. Antonia Carver, director of Art Jameel, said: "We're delighted with the outcome of the one-year program. The participants managed to translate the modules into state-of-art pieces. The modules in the program were delivered by the Prince's School of Traditional Arts and included geometry and nabati design, as well as the crafts of mangour, gypsum carving and ceramics. We are so excited for the second year of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts, Jeddah, which will start in fall 2017. Applications have increased by 50 percent compared to last year." The Jameel House of Traditional Arts, Jeddah, opened in 2015 and began its first one-year program in September 2016. As a partnership between Art Jameel, the Prince's School of Traditional Arts and the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, the House offers a program that focuses on Islamic geometry, patterns and designs, nabati ornaments, color harmony and decorative techniques, woodwork, gypsum-carving and other traditional crafts within the rich architectural heritage of the Old Jeddah. The House engages with the local community through a calendar of public workshops and evening classes, and participation in the lively festivals of the Old City. With strong ties to the historic buildings and the richly cosmopolitan past of Jeddah, the Jameel House of Traditional Arts is at the very center of efforts to preserve the Old City, its ancient traditions and its unique way of life. The exhibition is taking place at the Jameel House of Traditional Arts behind Al-Mimar Mosque, off Al-Dahab Street in Old Jeddah. — SG
