Saudi Gazette report

THE Saudi Embassy in Washington, in collaboration with Dar Al-Hekma University, recently organized an art exhibition where Saudi women students presented works of art that illuminated a new face of the Kingdom unknown to most Americans. It is the Saudi heritage.

The students presented their works in an innovative way linking the past with the present to raise the curiosity of visitors.

With Saudi civilization as a starting point, the exhibition offered the visitors an opportunity to explore modern life in the desert Kingdom. A series of activities and events organized by various departments of the university conveyed to the world the civilized face of a country and the true image of its people, who succeeded in preserving their heritage in accurate details.

Al-Riyadh newspaper met with some students of Dar Al-Hekma who impressed the audience with their creative work in certain scientific fields, fields that even women in the West tend to avoid due to many hardships, including the long time they are required to devote in order to make a difference.

Dima Alhamrani, a cartoon designer, said she tried to revive the memories of ancient Saudi civilization and fuse them into current developments in the Kingdom through paintings that showcased the amalgamation of heritage with modernity.

"As a Saudi woman today, and under the new vision, I am more confident of myself, and my ambitions are not limited by anything. The opportunity to present our works of art in a capital city as important as Washington is a very big one. We are honored and the sky is the limit to our ambitions," she stated.

Lama Al-Beloui, a graduate of fashion designing, said, "Art has been my passion since childhood. I love drawing so much, and my contribution to the exhibition was through portraits of important figures who symbolized the Bedouin life with its simplicity, determination, resilience, ruthlessness and hope.

"The message I wanted to convey was the aspects of Bedouin life that Western societies might not be aware of: their loyalty to literature, art and culture and the inspiration they drew from them even when they did not know how to read the Arabic letters."

Bashayer Al-Khayyat, a graduate of Graphic Design, created an application that reflected Saudi women's reliance on their abilities to overcome all challenges. Her application encouraged Saudi women to run for fitness and health benefits.

Rawabi Al-Senoussi, another graduate of Graphic Design, made a distinct contribution to the exhibition with 13 of her colleagues. They designed a colorful book that tells 13 stories about the grandparents in the Kingdom, all of which reflected the vision and important contributions of Saudi seniors in various aspects of life.