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ONE of the kingdom’s oldest writers’ groups is set to unveil the seventh edition of its annual exhibition, Confluence – Where words and images meet, on Saturday, showcasing diverse themes like ‘crimes against women’, ‘childhood memories’, ‘hope’ and ‘transition’.
Bahrain Writers’ Circle (BWC), a volunteer group established in 2011 by former Bahrain resident and best-selling author Robin Barratt, will stage the event under the patronage of renowned Bahraini poet and novelist Hameed Al Qaed.
Visitors can enjoy personal experiences brought alive through poetry, prose and various art forms including paintings, mixed media art, installation and photography. More than 25 entries by Bahrain-based creative talents, as well as former BWC members who have left the island but continue to be part of the group, will be on display.
The exhibition’s concept is the brainchild of founding member and former BWC director Rohini Sunderam, who currently lives in Canada.
The idea behind Confluence is for the art to be inspired by the words or the other way around – ‘confluence’. BWC writers collaborate with artists from within the circle and beyond.
“The Bahrain Writers’ Circle celebrates our annual tradition through expression of universal personal experiences, revealing deeper insights through poetry and art,” BWC director Saira Ranj told GulfWeekly.
“Serving as a mirror of society, we bring you artists that capture their cultural values, current struggles, and transformations through the written word as well as a visual outlet. It will make you think, feel and process perspectives,” she added.
The event will be inaugurated at 7pm in a public ceremony on the second floor concourse of the Bahrain Financial Harbour’s Harbour Gate, which has over the years earned a reputation as a ‘vibrant hub that fosters artistic and cultural connections’.
American expatriate and former real estate agent Chelsea Chacon will exhibit two poems, inspired by her attempts to accept the pace of life.
“Moths deals with the inevitability of change and our failed attempts to stop it and Little Treats captures the feeling of how society’s standard of beauty cages in the potential of a person,” Chelsea said.
“When I showed my art partner my poems, I knew she’d only enhance the feeling my words provoke. I liked the idea of an emotionally heavy poem portrayed in watercolours. She portrayed the vulnerability in a deceptively benign light,” she explained sharing her experience teaming up with Bahrain-based artist Madhu S., known in local art circles as Femvisionary.
The 35-year-old from Seef District is participating for the first time and hopes to meet more writers and artists.
British expat and former Bahrain resident Darius Abbasi is set to present his inspired musings – Rootless Nights and The Edge – and will be flying in from the UAE especially for the event.
“I am excited to meet everyone and visit Bahrain, and Confluence is the perfect opportunity to do that,” the creative, who currently works as a digital engagement director, said.
Darius is collaborating with Bahrain-based artists: entrepreneur Anita Menon, who is also a BWC member, and mental health practitioner and DJ Reema Alajaji.
“I wrote a few poems, then shared it with the two artists to choose one that speaks to them. One of my poems is about the sense of not belonging, being rootless, but still loving and being loved. The other is about being free and vulnerable, aiming high but being curious and so, paying for it all,” he explained.
Bahraini author Noor Al Noaimi has worked on a piece inspired by ‘the reality of women’s lives and their safety across the world’. She was deeply touched by the recent Kolkata (India) case in which a young doctor was raped and murdered on her college premises, which led Noor to create the poem.
“I usually write prose, but the gravity of this situation prompted poetry out of me and I’m glad to be able to use Bahrain Writers’ Circle’s platform to highlight this issue,” the author of The Pearl Thief revealed.
Noor has tied up with Bahrain-based creative entrepreneur Kaav Ranj, 24, who has worked on an oil-and-acrylic painting heavily influenced by Noor’s words.
“It is a sensitive poem, so I wanted to showcase the pain while keeping the face relatively anonymous and shrouded – so everyone can see a bit of themselves in relation to these situations,” the Indian expat and multidisciplinary artist added.
The exhibition will run daily until October 17 – entry is free.
For more details, follow @bahrainwriterscirclebwc on Instagram.
