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Sunday 22 April 2012

Saudi female artists got talent too


By Raeda Ashour (left) and Ayman Mahawi
By Wafa Karsha (left) and Wafa al-Mihdar
By Hanaa Koshaim (left) and Samiah Khashoggi
By Ibtissam Rufae (left) and Reem Nazir
A group of nine Saudi female artists better known as "Saudiaat" last week held their 4th exhibition dubbed “Directions” at the Rochan Gallery in Jeddah.
Artist Samiah Mohammed Khashoggi, an assistant professor at Dar Al Hekma College (DAH), founded the group in 2006.
Khashoggi started as a representational artist and gradually steered her way toward stylized and abstract art.
“My journey with art has been long but inconsistent, often interrupted, but art has to be authentic and genuine. It has to be an experience worth reflecting and this process takes time,” Khashoggi told Saudi Gazette's Doha Ghouth this week.
The group's other eight members alongside Khashoggi are Raeda Ashour, Effat Fadaq, Wafa Karsha, Ayman Mahawi, Maha Mufti, Wafa al-Mihdar, Reem Nazir and Ibtissam Rufae.
Their avowed objective is mutual support in their artistic careers and putting Saudi women's art on public view. A set of burgeoning Saudi female artists, known as “Friends of Saudiaat,” seconds them.
Saudiaat showcased Saudi women works of art under various labels on four occasions: "Identities Unveiled" followed by "Expressions" in 2006, "Dialogues" in 2008, and "Directions" from the 7th to the 17th of this month.
The works of eight Saudiaat artists illustrated here were on display in “Directions” 2012.