Art can never thrive far from the personality of its artist. An art exhibition dubbed “Who Am I?”, scheduled for three days as of Wednesday, September 14, in Jeddah, gathers 10 Saudi artists who present around 30 art works that revolve around every artist’s vision of himself and his views of the world surrounding them, in an attempt to reach a mutual answer to the existential question: Who Am I?
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Engineer Hani Khoja said the idea of the exhibition was born in July, noting that “the idea of creating a space for art has inspired me and interested me since I was a kid.” Khoja adds that this creative space consists of spreading the culture of art locally, then regionally, by providing the needed place, supporting emerging and known artists, and trying to build a connection between customers and artists. “This requires ensuring a safe space for self-expression in the different forms of art,” he adds.
Art…language of expression
“To express your opinion, you have to show your personality using your expression language. Art is an expression language, and people in the past and modern time, managed to reveal their personalities and express their opinions through their paintings and sculptures.” Khoja says that the exhibition, held between 14 and 16 September, enables artists from different ages, and cultural backgrounds, to express their views and reveal their personalities and experiences through their works.
During the interview, Khoja highlighted some of the partaking artists including “the talented Lamar Rizk, who expressed her feelings by drawing humans with selected colors, in an attempt to explain her own understanding of emotions. There is also artist Rital al-Ghamdi, who managed to embody bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in a painting drawn with acrylic colors, after she was diagnosed with them both. She tried to reflect her acceptance of her case and new personality through her art.”
Art revival
Khoja believes that Jeddah is the city of art, noting that “through our third exhibition ‘Who Am I?’, we have the chance to revive art in our beautiful city. The exhibition hosts 10 Saudi artists, and we aspire to welcome more from all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds from all over the world.” During the event, the artists will be present with their works to explain their vision and personal and professional experiences. When asked about the number of participating works, he said the exhibition displays 20-30 different pieces, including paintings, and digital artworks. “Among the most significant works in the exhibition are the interactive ones, which allow the audience to live an immersive experience and share it on social media,” he notes.
About the mechanism used to analyze individuals through personal expression, Khoja says: “Art education was my favorite course during my school years, due to the potential art gave me to express my feelings. Art was and still is my favorite language to open up about my emotions and
views of different situations. During the exhibition, all the artists will be allowed to speak about their life experience through their paintings. All the exhibitions’ activities and segments are curated in partnership with the ‘Darb’ team and the Creative Space team.”
The exhibition’s doors are open to the public for free, from Wednesday, September 15 till Friday, September 16, as of 7:30 pm. The list of partaking artists includes Hiam Khoja, Lamar Rizk, Lina al-Ali, Ghaydaa al-Fadel, Maryam Ayman, Abdul Malek Ghazawi, Asil Fayez, Rawan Dakhil, Rital al-Ghamdi, and Hani Khoja.
