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NINE Arab artists are set to take people on an introspective journey at the inaugural exhibition of Amana Creative Collective’s newly-opened community hub tonight (December 5).
Fragments of Self: A Collage Journey into Arab Identity will be staged at Dar Amana (Arabic for ‘house of Amana’) in Bahrain’s cultural capital Muharraq.
The venue will serve as the dedicated headquarters for the community-based platform, which raises awareness on humanitarian causes through art.
“We still aim to collaborate with other creative spaces and artists, but having a headquarters of our own to host events is something we’re all excited about,” co-founder Ramah Al Husseini told GulfWeekly.
“Starting with this exhibition that invites self-reflection is a great way to launch this new chapter of Amana,” she added.
Amana Creative Collective was founded this year by Bahrainis, Maryam Abdulla, Fatima Al Saad, Maha Al Sahhaf and Tamadher Al Fahal and Palestinian-Saudi Ramah Al Husseini. Dar Amana will be on the Pearling Path for the next six months as part of a larger Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) activation.
“We don’t know what the future holds but our doors are open until the summer
when the Pearling Path closes,” she said.
Bahraini programme manager Ali Al Shaikh is one of the participating artists in the collage-themed showcase. He discovered the style during the ‘trying times’ of the Covid-19 pandemic and found it to be a great outlet for creative expression.
“I design my pieces from a variety of print material salvaged, or collected from thrift stores. The idea that everything can be a part of a bigger story excites me and informs my work,” he said.
“In this piece, I attempt to have elements of nature, textures, architectural motifs and colours interact to represent a dreamy narrative, that shows the different periods we (Arabs) went through, culturally and socially over the last century. I think our identity is highly impacted by the changes our societies go through,” the 36-year-old explained.
Mixed-media artist Layla Al Ammari describes her style as ‘loose, colourful, and whimsical’. The Saar resident will be displaying her unique interpretation of what it is to be Arab, drawing from her own Arab identity.
“I identify as Arab as my father is Bahraini and Saudi, and my mother is Dutch. However, I grew up in both Bahrain and Saudi, and connect to the Arab culture, both in a beautiful and in a complicated way,” she noted.
The self-taught artist plays a lot with collage, which is her signature style and aspires to pursue a Master’s degree in Fine Arts in the coming years. In the Amana exhibition, the 23-year-old uses collage and colour to bring alive the patterns, inspired by the different designs associated with Arab fashion, clothing and furniture, across the entirety of the Middle East.
“My artworks represent the importance of community and culture in the Arab world. But also, the dream of a cohesive and interconnected future, where we can expand, challenge, and include more in the Arab identity,” she said.
“I work a lot through themes of identity and belonging through my art. I am interested in better understanding the emblems of ‘Arab culture’, and challenging them through different representations,” she added.
RAK (Rashid Al Khalifa) Foundation director Yasmin Sharabi’s creation points to her Palestinian roots. The Palestinian-American-Bahraini artist and curator from Janabiya explores her relationship with her Palestinian father in this exhibition.
“I acknowledge how my father’s homeland, heritage and existence are synonymous with mine and how his lifelong struggle for liberation is also a defining characteristic of my Arab identity,” she said.
“In A letter from my father, I contemplate my relationship with my father by translating his memories into visualisations and layering them within a translucent file. This process of deciphering thoughts and transforming memories into tangible images, invites me to identify with my father, conflating his narrative with my interpretations,” she added.
The 43-year-old, who has a Master’s degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Art Institute, used scraps of paper, including copies of items from her personal collection such as old photos of her father, his childhood drawings and a copy of his handwriting to create her artwork.
Dar Amana will be hosting exhibitions, workshops and music events throughout the next few months. The space also features Dukkan Amana – a shop with locally crafted items designed by talented artists and creatives – and a café. The exhibition runs until December 30.
For event details, follow @we.are.amana on Instagram.
