Ghamdi, an art teacher at Ibn Katheer Intermediate School in Jeddah, took his students out to see an arts exhibition on Sunday, they thought it was going to be one of those boring trips again. However, to their collective surprise, instead of him talking to them halfway into sleep about every single item in the Art Education Exhibition at Jeddah's Mega Mall, he asked them what they thought of the artworks they saw. He asked them to freely express their opinions about the meaning, quality, style, and even the materials used in the paintings and sculptures on display, and what artistic schools of thought they represented. The Directorate General of Education in Jeddah, the organizers of the show, aim to spread awareness about fine arts and how students can express themselves through colors. The one-week exhibition displays artistic works done by students of different art schools, such as impressionism, abstract, and surrealism. “The event is a great opportunity for children to develop their artistic senses,” Ghamdi told the Saudi Gazette. “In fact, we have very talented students who just need to be pushed forward to produce works that reflect their various cultures and experiences. For example, a student who endures a real family struggle or blissful happiness would surely express that in a work of art,” he added. He also said that he wanted to test his students' skills in evaluating artworks through the exhibition. “We teach students about different schools of artistic thought, so it is not entirely out of the question to expect them to produce similar works,” he said. “I really wanted to put my students to the test and see if they are capable of critiquing art.” Ghamdi said younger generations should be exposed to such exhibitions so as to encourage them to consider art. “It seems that we are wasting time teaching students art courses in primary and intermediate levels and ignoring them later in the secondary level,” he said. “Students will gradually lose their artistic sense.” Students at the exhibition expressed their happiness to see such events. “Whenever we spend time and money on creating works of art, we normally ask ourselves who will care,” said Nawaf Yar, a secondary school student. He added that although he did not participate in the exhibition, he is now more encouraged to let others see his work in the future. __
