Mariam Nihal
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH - Jeddah art week is back for a second round and this time it brings more to the table. If you are a social media addict, then you know who El Seed is. The graffiti artist has been caught in action more than just once, or a thousand times on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and of course the medium used most by Saudis, Youtube. The French-Tunisian artist eL Seed used masterstrokes mixing graffiti with Arabic calligraphy to introduce Saudi to what his art is all about. 'Calligrafitti' now symbolizes the art of belief, tradition and graffiti for the very first time for Jeddawis. Sure Saudi has its share of street artists, but no one had witnessed beauty on such a grand scale in the heart of Jeddah.
Balad is now home to el Seed's passionate, dramatic and artistic display inspired by poetry. His work can be seen globally in cities like New York, Paris, Melbourne and Tunis.
Five local graffiti artists came together to complete the mural over the past three days in a bid to cultivate knowledge and preserve the cultural heritage of Balad. Jeddah unveiled famous sculptures after a long process of restoration to the public in what you can call an open-air museum by the Corniche. On Sunday, 12 art exhibitions were held at Jeddah's Park Hyatt Al Furusiya Marina And Yacht Club. This included the exhibition called 'Limited Edition', that showcased the work of 21 local Saudi artists. 'Kakaibang Jeddah' exhibited the photographic work of 15 part-time Filipino photographers for the first time.
Organised by Tunisian art gallery, Galerie El Marsa, two of North Africa's foremost calligraphy experts Nja Mahdaoui and Khaled Ben Slimane bring various themes, Arabic calligraphy and incredible art pieces together. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and Information and the Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, international auction house Sotheby's has also teamed up with Jeddah Art Week and unveiled its contemporary art exhibition. The collection includes the much talked about Damian Hirst's Butterflies, Ali Bandisadr's The Chase, Hayv Kahraman, Jannane Al Ani, Khalil Rabah and Mounir Fatmi. In a bid to decode the lines between fashion, art and technology, fashion designer and stylist, Nour Kelani, formed an intersection with an art platform at the event with Haalinc and other local artists. Khalid Zahid's solo exhibition was a visual expression of his hopes and desires for the Kingdom's future. The art week runs till 6 February at Al Fursiya consisting of a mix of line-up including local and international artists.
