Artists talk nineteen to the dozen about “Views” expo

Manama : “Views”, the brainchild of Shaikh Rashid, is very well organised exhibition and not less than a mini art fair by any standards, said Albareh Art Gallery Managing Director Hayfa Al-Jishi.

On the sidelines of the “Views” exhibition at Ritz Carlton, she said that it was very important to expose the artistic scene of Bahrain to the world as Bahrain has all the artistic talent quite befitting to the international talent. 

According to her, it was important to show to the world that Bahrain was much more advanced in the field of art. She commented that Bahrain is pioneer in the field of art in the Gulf region and it had art since 40s before any neighbouring country. 

“We have many generations, who had exhibited art here. We have very young, established artists and the exhibitions are the venues to put everyone together under one roof,” Ms. Hayfaremarked.

She said that as the President of Bahrain Art Society, Shaikh Rashid had always been taking initiatives like this that highlight the importance of art in Bahrain.

She said that they had here two galleries - Albareh and Al Riwahq. She added that Albareh gallery had been working with the international Arab artists apart from the local Bahraini artists and they were exhibiting here three international artists and two midcareer upcoming artists.

Ms. Hayfa added that she was thrilled to see the way the exhibition had been organised and wanted to see this repeated every year and hoped it would grow like Art Dubai.

Bahraini artist and Art Consultant Abdulrahim Sharif said it was a great beginning to take part in this art exhibition. “We expect to see it every year with bigger number of local and international artists.” 

Sharif was impressed by the amount of international participation in “Views.” 

Talking on the main challenges a young artist faces, he said creativity was the main issue “because we are living in an era where the load on the new artist was growing more and more.” According to him, social media positively affecting the creativity but sometimes it started affecting negatively as some people use it for plagiarism. 

UK art writer Richard Noyce also impressed by the exhibition. He said that he was delighted that Art Bahrain had taken an initiative to make Bahraini art better known to people outside the country and to introduce art from outside the country into Bahrain.

“Indeed it has been a pleasure to meet Shaikh Rashid, who has not only been doing his own beautiful art but encouraging young artists through many ways,” he added. 

Caption : Hayfa Al-Jishi