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STUNNING works of art, conversations in beautiful settings accompanied by soft music and delicious food ... all the ingredients needed to make a pleasant evening memorable.
Bahrain's very first 'art lounge', conceived and organised at the Atrium in Gulf Hotel by artists Marion Labani and Demi McLeod opens tomorrow and promises to provide all that and more.
Open to all hotel visitors until May 17, the art lounge will alongside live entertainment have on display up to 100 pieces of artwork, including sculptures, paintings and a custom-built chopper bike, by internationally collected and recognised artists to newly-discovered talents.
Visitors can also choose to dine at the Fusions, La Pergola and Royal Thai restaurants that have a specially arranged menu for art lounge guests.
Artists whose works will be on display are Abbas Almosawi, Balqees Fakhroo, Faisal Al Absi, Freed Abu Qais, Jaffar Al Orabi, Kareema Taha, Khalid Farhan, Mahmood A Jabbar and Mohammed Fakhrawi.
Australian Demi McLeod, 46, from Mahooz, said: "There will be a diverse collection of works on canvas. While Abbas Almosawi's passion for life will reach out to you Freed Abu Qais' quiet reflections will draw you in."
Khalid Farhans sculptures' will be seen alongside Balqees Fakhroo's 10 new works that are also a preview for her up-coming exhibition in La Louvre, Paris in 2009.
"Jaffar Al Oraibi who has a near sell-out exhibition with The Bahrain Art Society will show 15 new works and Kareema Taha's powerful woman and strong colours cannot be walked past.
"Beside famous artists, we also have Mohammed Fakhrawi and Faisal Al Absi, one of our hidden secrets, showing for the first time in Bahrain," she added.
The first art lounge was an experiment where both women introduced themselves with 60 of their best works.
Marion Labani, 40, from Karranah said: "The success was immense. We sold 60 per cent of the exhibited work and gained confidence that we are reaching out to the right audience.
"We decided to combine our talents and began exploring more possibilities of exhibiting and supporting other artists, especially the hidden talents from Bahrain, in relaxed spaces in addition to galleries. We focussed on high quality work and were very pleased with the positive reactions from every artist we approached.
"We want to make this a very professional event and reach out to art lovers and art collectors. Every event will have a new flavour to make the evening a complete experience."
The concept has found favour among the kingdom's corporate world. Gulf Hotel, Gulf Brands, Oman Air and Al Fanar Travel have partly sponsored this event.
It moves on to Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa in June and to a classic old villa in Adliya in October.
Part of the profits from the event will be provided to START, a programme run by Al Madad Foundation and links child development with arts education.
The organisers are happy to introduce the works during the days of the exhibition and can be contacted on art.lounge@hotmail.com
