held art exhibition to exhibit hidden new talents of around 60 Saudi and non-Saudi artists from around the Kingdom was held last Thursday at the King Abdulaziz cultural center: Abar Al-Raghama. The exhibition was organized by the Arabian Wings group of art with the Ministry of Culture and Information and was inaugurated by Abu Bakr Baqader, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information. “This exhibition seeks to demonstrate the abilities of the Kingdom's future artists, so it is a way to encourage their talents,” he said. “There are two elements involved in this: the encouragement of new artists and the creation of an environment for art lovers. What I like best is that you see people from all walks of life and a variety of backgrounds interacting and discussing art.” The deputy minster also expressed appreciation for the art work of some of the participating artists who he said have managed to “philosophize what they have in their minds”. “As Saudi Arabia is unique in many ways, we also expect the artists' expressions to be as authentic and unique as the culture we have,” he added. The Ministry of Culture and Information is planning to take the work of these artists abroad to exhibit on an international level. “There are different levels or standards of the paintings and such gatherings and exhibitions will enable us to choose what particular piece of artwork to take with us; whatever suits our cultural activities and exhibitions abroad,” he explained. The organizer of the event, Mohammed Bahrawi, the director of the Arabian Wings art group, remarked that this year's exhibition will encourage fledgling artists to expose their talents to the public “as artists generally remain unknown to the public, so this particular event allows them to come forward.” The 60 new artists hail from different backgrounds and nationalities. “The annual event started in 2007 with 25 artists participating from the Gulf region, and has now reached 60; we have also announced membership for all those who would like to become a part of the Arabian Wings group - to help and guide them correctly,” added Bahrawi. One participant expressed surprise at winning a prize. “When I was working on this painting, I never thought that I would win third place; it is a pleasure to know that the people and judges liked my work, though it is my first exhibition in Jeddah,” remarked Ahmed Al-Shakri - the third prize-winner - an artist who works in a private company in Riyadh and has participated in exhibitions there. His artwork outlined a breathtaking mountain range from the Kingdom's landscape. Another winner, Saud Khan, explained that his work of Arabic calligraphy - which got second place - depicts a verse from the Holy Qu'ran in the Kufi and Joufi style of calligraphy. “After such a long time, we have seen an exhibition for beginners to showcase their talents, and I hope we will witness this each year,” he said. First prize-winner (men), Amad Maghrabi is an engineer by profession, and he used his talent in the field of drawing to depict the frustration experienced by the youth on finding themselves unemployed in his prize-winning artwork. “I drew a picture of a young man with a bomb to his side, to show that he is so frustrated that he can explode at any time,” he explained. “Through this picture, I want to show society that the young generation is going towards wrong things like extremism and drugs and that they need support and a helping hand to keep them away from this. Maghrabi had drawn the picture using only a black pencil. The deputy minister presented the prizes to the winners with different categories for both men and women. The first prize in women went to Nadia Al-Mousa from Al Ahsa who depicted the death and suffering within the young generation, followed by Nijat Mather from Makkah who depicted a frustrated mother holding a weeping child and third prize went to Razaz Khourshid from Jeddah.
