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A MAJOR art show is to be opened in Bahrain with the aim of helping to develop regional talent and provide an outlet for investors and lovers of original work to pick up a prize piece.
Art curators and programme developers TalentFreeFlow (TFF) have put together Pop-Up Art – Middle East, a four-day exhibition they claim is unique to the kingdom, at a new space on Palm Square off Budaiya Highway, from December 10-14.
Work on show comes from artists from Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon and Iraq, as well as a British artist exhibiting exclusive works with a Middle Eastern twist, and will be unveiled after the first public screening of an award-winning documentary on Bedouins.
Works, valued at between BD100 to BD4,000, by acclaimed Sabhan Adam, Ali Ali, Hani Alqam, Toufic Beyhum, Bortusk Leer, Adel Megdiche and others will be displayed, presenting an opportunity, the organisers say, to acquire affordable art from the Arab world’s most established proponents, as well as up-and-coming artists.
“We believe that Middle Eastern art should be accessible to everyone, which is why we’re introducing Pop-Up Art, exclusive to Bahrain. Here people can view and buy works from artists who hail from all around the Middle East and North Africa,” said Rawia Beyhum, director, TalentFreeFlow.
“Have you ever tried to get your hands on Middle Eastern art? Not an easy task, unless you happen to have the ways and means to purchase luxury items from glitzy auction houses, exclusive galleries or fancy art fairs.
“We want to change that situation with the Pop-Up Art exhibition. This art is affordable … for now, but may certainly increase in value making the pieces potentially a great investment. The sale of the art also helps support artists who, in my opinion, are not getting the exposure they deserve. This in turn helps the growth and development of the Middle Eastern art scene.”
As a bonus, there will also be an opening ‘free admittance’ screening of an award-winning documentary on the Bedouins of Petra, Jordan, called ‘After Tomorrow’ that is not yet available to view by the general public, at Words Bookstore Café on Palm Square, Budaiya Highway, near Saar.
After the screening, visitors will be able to interact in a Q&A session with its co-director Toufic Beyhum.
The documentary will be screened on December 10 at 7pm and will be followed by the opening of the Pop Up Art – Middle East exhibition at 9pm.
“We are very excited and proud to host an exhibition of such high-calibre work and are also looking forward to the screening,” added café co-owner Eileen Abuhamad. “Pop-Up Art will be a very casual space that will last for only four days from December 10. Everyone is welcome to visit, browse and enjoy.”
For further information, call art curator Rawia Beyhum on 39785868, visit www.talentfreeflow.com and check out www.facebook.com/talentfreeflow or Instagram @talentfreeflow, Hashtag: #TFFArt
FACT FILE ON THE ARTISTS
Sabhan Adam
The Syrian-born artist challenges superficial notions of beauty and ugliness by painting elaborate portraits of misshapen creatures draped in metallic, sequined attire.
Born in 1972, Adam’s paintings depict grisly creatures, all with similar facial features based on his own face. Because he sets the creatures he paints against plain backgrounds, they appear to jump out of the canvas.
Adam’s art is introspective and breaks from the norm of most Middle Eastern portraiture, which concentrates on idealising subjects. Adam, by contrast, conveys the unsightly but adorns his subjects in finery, causing viewers to question their own perceptions of beauty.
Internationally-recognised for his compelling works, Adam has exhibited his paintings around the world, including Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus, Geneva, Madrid, Dubai, Rome, New York and Paris.
Hani Alqam
He had his first solo exhibition at the Zara Gallery in Amman, Jordan, in 2002. Alqam, born in the Jordanian capital in 1977, has been part of many international selected group exhibition projects in England, Holland, Ireland and the US. Alqam says that his favourite medium and the medium in which he can best express himself is oil, although his prints (cardboard etchings and lino prints) are very popular among those who buy his work. His work is present in public collections at the National Art Gallery in his home town, as well as in many private collections.
Toufic Beyhum
Born in troubled Beirut in 1974, he moved to London at a young age when his family was forced into exile by the relentless war.
A visualist from a young age, Toufic first showed an interest in photography at the age of 15, refining his skills at art college over the next few years. At 21, he graduated and immediately embarked on a successful advertising career, plying his trade as an art director for multi-national advertising agencies in New York, Dubai, London and Berlin.
Amidst the flurry of advertising deadlines, Toufic still managed to indulge his passion for photography, at one point taking a year off to travel and photograph the world, and even publishing a photographic book of Berlin’s U-Bahn in May 2007.
He has exhibited his work in London, Berlin, LA and Dubai. He has also had shots featured in Dazed & Confused, National Geographic Shot, The Independent, Telegraph, Esquire Russia, WIRED, BILD, Die Zeit, Der Tagesspiegel, Zeitung, Welt Am Sonntag, Libération, The Drum, Complex art+design & Vice magazine.
Toufic is now based in London.
Bortusk Leer
Born in Slovenia and now residing in Amsterdam. People can sometimes get trapped in the seriousness of life but the art of Bortusk helps put smiles on faces. Some critics suggest that he is one of the pioneers of ‘art-comedy’. Next to spreading his work on the streets of many capital cities, he has also enjoyed solo exhibitions across the globe.
READERS’ COMPETITION: Simply answer the following question to win an iconic photograph-print from the film ‘After Tomorrow’ presented by Toufic Beyhum on the day of the screening: In which country is Petra?
Send your answer to secretary@gulfweekly.com
The first correct entry drawn on Sunday at noon will win the prize. Normal GulfWeekly contest rules apply. The Editor’s decision is final.
