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Bahrain’s artistic community rejoiced last weekend as the kingdom’s bellwether art space reopened after having all but disappeared for nearly four years.
Al Riwaq Art Space welcomed visitors at its new premises in Gufool at the Bank House behind Water Garden.
And top and emerging artists from across the island with fond memories of the space showed up to support its return.
“Since being founded in 1998, Al Riwaq has lived through the huge chunk of Bahrain’s contemporary art movement,” Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) director Shouq Al Alawi told GulfWeekly. “And almost every artist has their own set of memories associated with the space.”
Ever since it was incepted, the not-for-profit space offered educational programmes, networking opportunities and more as it highlighted emerging talent across the country.
Al Riwaq Art Space had shut down in 2018 after rents in Adliya became unaffordable and has been looking for a permanent home ever since.
Now, it seems to have found just that in the Bank House, which used to house previous directors of Standard Chartered Bank between 1955 and 2008.
The Bank House has since been listed by the company as one of its sustainability projects in an effort to bring together culture and ideas.
The space was opened last weekend by BACA president Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, in the presence of Al Riwaq director Bayan Al Barrak as well as emerging and familiar artistic faces from across the kingdom.
“Al Riwaq is not just an art space - to me and to many other artists, it is about the community that formed around it,” explained artist Mohammed Hejair, who completed the space’s Nexus programme in 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It offers a rare opportunity for creatives of all types - painters, photographers, fashion designers, sculptors and more - to meet, exchange ideas and really foster an art scene in the kingdom.”
As it rises from the ashes, many are looking to the community’s phoenix spirit to once again revitalise the local scene with more workshops and programmes.
It has already announced a packed schedule for this month, including workshops in perspective drawing, 3D printing, photography, datamoshing, filmmaking and zines, as well as a comprehensive third edition of the popular Nexus programme.
The three-month long Nexus programme, will include a survey of global trends in the art world throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. There will be 12 sessions - one every Saturday until April - as well as one-on-one mentorship for those interested in developing a personal art or research project.
“Art is about making society better and helping its members have all kinds of conversations,” noted Bayan.
“We want to elevate it so it’s not just about creating, but rather sharing your message with the world. While we are launching a full schedule of events and workshops, we are also eager to hear from creatives about what they would like to learn more about, and then we can connect them.”
For more details, follow @alriwaq on Instagram.
