Hamza Serafi is a big man with a warm, welcoming manner who takes enormous pleasure out of seeing people in his jointly-founded art gallery, the Athr Gallery. He does not like to be called the ‘joint owner' because he prefers to think of himself as “the owner of nothing”. With his trademark moustache, he is a mix of Tom Selleck and Clark Gable, has a playful sense of humor and is quick to laugh. As our interview progressed, I noticed that he had an interesting way of deflecting questions with surprising answers, like when I asked him where he was educated: “I'd like to say that I am still being educated,” was his response. In answer to my question, “Where are you from?”, he replied: “Planet earth!” Our interview took place in the enormous open-plan offices of the gallery with its surrounding picture windows and views over Jeddah. As we settled at his desk, he ensured that his cigarettes and lighter were close at hand, (but courteously asked me if I minded if he smoked), as well as a box of what I soon discovered were exquisite chocolates. Serafi is, in fact, from an old Makkah family and his journey to doing what he enjoys best – being involved with art – took a roundabout course. His schooling was in Jeddah, and he cunningly used a health problem to get out of playing any sports. “Art in school here was a recreational activity, rather than an educational one. You could either play football, or sit and draw and color. I asked to spend sports time in the arts and crafts studio in the school, but there was no real attention paid as to why a kid would rather go to the art room instead of playing sport,” he said. He then showed me a portrait by Abdullah Hamas which holds significant meaning for him. “It really sums up a lot of my opinions and the way I see my life unfolding. There is a tiara in the portrait, and it is always the society, or the community, who tries to give you a tiara. They point you in a certain direction, and being from the East, we are brought up with certain manners and obedience; you try to please your parents and your community. They give you the crown and then you play the role. But I don't regret that because I think that was also part of my educational experience to see other worlds.” Serafi considers that he was one of those lucky enough to be able to travel and he went to summer schools in England to learn English. “That was a very important part of my education, informing my perspective on life. We used to stay with English families and I remember the warmth of the families that I stayed with, and their approach in dealing with a foreign student. We were both learning from each other.” His education continued in the US at Georgetown University, and then back home at King Abdulaziz University where he studied Business Administration, and finally at Newberry School of Art and Design in Boston studying Art Appreciation and Interior Design. Once back in Saudi Arabia, he worked for two years with the Saudi American bank. “This was also a big part of my education,” said Serafi, “because before that, life for me was a rose garden. This opened my eyes more to the real world of business and finance. It took me two years to decide that this was not my cup of tea and I resigned from the bank. I opened my first art gallery called Art Vision with a good friend of mine in the Basateen Center. This was where I met my current partner, Mohammed Hafiz. We sold Art Vision because we got an offer that we couldn't refuse, and it is since then that I decided to turn my hobbies (interior design) and my love for art into a profession.” Serafi is passionate about the role that art plays in education: “It is only through art that teaching makes sense. You transform it from something boring and systematic into something vibrant and interesting. So even teaching mathematics in a creative way makes the subject come alive. Art is how you infuse spirit into things, make them have meaning, and if you can do that, then you are very blessed. And not only you, but the people who learn from you, because then they will carry the torch. That is how art changes society. It is through education, through teaching the kids the importance of being creative and to think for themselves and to question things. Art also teaches people about liberty and freedom, and to claim their voice, to come out with things, and not to be afraid to say what they think. At the same time, it teaches people how to accept the other's idea and how to debate it in a cultural way, not by rejection but by discussion. This is what is needed in our societies now. There are societies that have somehow been hijacked and taught not to accept the other, and to discriminate everything around it, and to hear only one voice. So through art you bring up a cultured society, you will regain what we have lost on the way. I know that with the development of the education system that we are going through that art will be a major part of it,” he remarked. He is enthusiastic about the major progress that has been made in the Saudi art community. “This year at Art Dubai, there were three galleries showing Saudi artists,” he said. “Then the Venice La Biennale 2011 from June 4 to Nov. 27 is hosting a Saudi Pavillion for the first time with an installation artwork called ‘The Black Arch' by sisters Raja and Shadia Alem. Muna Khezindar has also become the first Saudi lady to appointed as Directrice Générale of the Institute of du Monde Arabe in Paris, one of the biggest cultural centers for art from the Arab world.” Having co-founded a vibrant art gallery, Serafi finds himself in the position of being a contemporary artist himself, but unable to be represented by his own gallery. However, he sent some of his work to a friend in Dubai, who liked what he saw and it was subsequently shown by Traffic Gallery in the recent Art Dubai fair. Since this interview, Serafi has signed a contract with Traffic Gallery to be officially represented by them as an artist. He showed me a brief video that he had made, inspired by the uprising in Egypt. “It is called ‘The People Want'”, he explained, “because they were shouting in the square: ‘The people want to change the system'. The people of the old regime told the demonstrators that they were ‘eating Kentucky', which was a big insult for them. They were demonstrating for their rights, and they were being accused of being fed American chickens. I went to Kentucky and they have this product called ‘Popcorn Chicken', and that is what inspired me to create this video.” It is a humorous piece of work: the film focuses on a frying pan on a stove with hot oil and a layer of un-popped corn heating up. All of a sudden, one piece pops. A few seconds later, another piece pops. You are now in suspense, waiting for the next one to go: finally it does, and this one leaps right out of the pan, and you cannot help laughing. The symbolism speaks for itself. He showed me another project he is working on: he has collected a series of bricklayers' trowels which are supposedly brand new. However, these ‘tools of the trade' have sat on hardware shop shelves for so long that they have rusted. He is collecting twenty of these trowels to represent the Saudi University graduates who cannot find jobs – contributing to the twenty per cent unemployment in the Kingdom. Serafi says that he enjoys every little detail of running the Athr Gallery: “It is the little things - the passion that gets you up in the morning and makes you think that you can make this world a better place. Athr would not have been the success that it is today if it was run by an individual, so I am thankful to my partner, Mohammed Hafiz, and the team that has put their energy into it. Maya, and all the girls that work here, generate a very positive and progressive energy.”
