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Showcasing Bahrain’s cultural heritage

ManamaThe art exhibition titled ‘15/15’ being held at the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Heritage is a unique opportunity to discover Bahrain’s cultural and architectural heritage through the prism of contemporary artistic practice.

‘15/15’ is a celebration of cultural and architectural heritage seen through the prism of contemporary art.

The Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohamed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research, one of the leading cultural centres in Bahrain and the Middle East, has to-date saved over twenty traditional Bahraini houses from demolition and decay and turned them into centres dedicated to preserving and celebrating Bahrain’s cultural heritage. Since 2002, over 300 speakers, poets, musicians and artists have used this venues to present their art and debate issues of the day.

In January 2017, the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre will celebrate its 15th anniversary. The exhibition “15/15” is held in connection with this milestone, inviting fifteen artists to create individual site-specific projects in fifteen of the restored historical Bahraini houses belonging to the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre.  Located in traditional urban conglomerations of Muharraq and Manama, the houses of the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre present a unique point of departure for examining the interplay between traditions and heritage. A meeting of traditions, which root us and form the bedrock of identity, and contemporary practice, which probes, questions, and looks into the future, forms the core of “15/15”.

Fifteen artists are invited to create new and site-specific artworks inspired by the history of the individual buildings of the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre, their architecture, or the personalities, missions and crafts to whom the buildings are dedicated. 

The individual projects each have a direct connection to the building, forming a unique response and dialogue. The exhibition “15/15” was conceptualized and curated by Melissa Enders-Bhatia, Head of Art and Exhibitions at the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre.

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The exhibition “15/15” is held at fifteen locations throughout Muharraq and Manama.  The opening hours of all the venues are Saturday to Thursday from 9am to 1pm and 4 to 7pm. The exhibition will runs until March 15, 2017.

For “15/15” Bahrain’s most prominent and established artists as well as most promising talent is participating. They have created stunning site-specific artworks in the form of painting, photographic projects, installation and sculpture.

Below are the individual artists  and their locations. Adnan Al Ahmed (Mohamed Bin Faris House for Sut Music, Muharraq), Khalil Al Hashimi  (Kurar House, Muharraq), Hala Al Khalifa (Shaikh Ebrahim Center for Culture and Research, Muharraq), Hanan Al Khalifa (Ibrahim Al Arrayed House for Press Heritage, Muharraq), Haya Al Khalifa (Memory of the House, Muharraq) ,Rashid Al Khalifa (Khalaf House – Memory of Manama, Manama), Ayesha Al Moayyed (Al Nukhida House, Muharraq), Jaffar Al Oraibi – Lukmatina Cafe, Muharraq), Ebrahim BuSaad (Al Nuzul House, Muharraq), Balqees Fakhro (House of Coffee, Muharraq), Ghada Khunji (Abdulla Al Zayed House of Poetry, Manama), Waheeda Malullah (IQRA Children’s Library, Muharraq), Faisal Samra (Mohamed Bin Faris Music Hall, Muharraq), Abdulrahim Sharif ( Buzaboon House, Muharraq),Camille Zakharia(Bin Matar House – Memory of the Place, Muharraq).