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Canvases in the shape of doves featuring aspirations for unity and world peace by Bahrain’s artists are set to fly off to Bosnia by the end of the year.
In April, hundreds of artists collaborated to complete 50 hours of creativity at the Karzakkan Forest, attracting more than 1,000 visitors.
These dove-shaped pieces, which are part of the Future Rise exhibition taking place at Seef Mall right now, will glide on a world tour starting in Bosnia.
“Our team, headed by noted Bahraini artist Abbas Al Mosawi, is currently in Bosnia meeting with the mayor of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to determine how we can bring these unique pieces there,” Colours of the East director Mahdi Al Jallawi told GulfWeekly.
“The country is eager to showcase art from the region and we are excited that this project for peace will be showcased there.”
The art pieces were created during the Youth, Arts and Peace Art Exhibition by Abbas, who believes that painting, drawing, theatre, music, cinema, photography and other arts are the best way to spread the message of positivity.
The pieces are now part of the Future Rise exhibition, which has united artists from 20 countries, including Egypt, Morocco and Russia, in depicting their vision for the future.
More than 200 pieces are currently on exhibit, featuring each artist’s unique take on where they see the future headed. And nature, the environment and climate change are themes evident in almost all of them.
On a rectangular canvas, Olga Malak from Russia has created a triptych of paintings depicting birds with symbolism around being caged and then free.
Lester Springer Geraldine from Malaysia has depicted an increasingly urbanising world teetering on the edge of a cliff separated from collapse by a solitary tree.
Bahraini artist Wadia Mohamed Rajab has created a bittersweet painting of the side-mirror of a car headed towards a barren land, with a lush oasis visible within the mirror.
One of Abbas’ own pieces depicts a stunning jelly fish, representative of the species that has started to become dominant in Bahrain’s waters in the face of rising sea levels and global temperatures.
“There is a liberation around creative expression that is evident in the art showcased here, and it is special to see artists of all ages uniting over art in Bahrain,” visiting art director Colin Herbert-Howell, 51, told GulfWeekly, while discussing some of the pieces on show.
“The younger generation in particular is sure to be inspired by these pieces as they have captured years gone by as well as a hopeful and sustainable future.
“Abbas, in particular, is an astounding artist, who has managed to unite all these artistic visions to provide a unified yet diverse forward-looking perspective on what the future might hold for us, and how art can bring about peace. ”
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