By Noimot Olayiwola
THE Qatar Museums Authority Board of Trustees’ chairperson HE Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani yesterday officially opened the Waqif Art Centre, with a major exhibition titled ‘Open Your Eyes’.
The exhibition will showcase, for one month, various collections of art works, crafts and rustic hand-made jewelleries by women artists from the Gulf region.
Participants from Bahrain, Muscat, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates include Fatima Naimi, Wadha Sulaiti, Mariam Mousa, Souad al-Salem, Munira al-Meer, Amal al-Athem, Ghada al-Kandari, Amira Behbehani, Maryam al-Zadjali, Tahira Fida, Nabeela al-Khayer, Faeqa hassan, Waheeda Maalullah, Raghda Bukash, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Rabiha Mahmood, Azza al-Qubaisi and Sheikha Sinani.
The works selected for the exhibition show the contemporary creations and cross-cultural tradition of the Arabian Gulf.
The first privately-owned gallery preserving and enhancing both Qatari and Middle Eastern Artistic traditions, the art centre brings together those who love art and culture and it also opens avenues for local and international artists to stimulate their thoughts, ideas, talents and inspiration.
“With an open attitude and the spirit to experiment with exhibition methods, the gallery wants to show art from ‘here and now’, establishing itself as an important cultural backbone, while keeping the unique local colour and intellectual vigour and global cultural perspective,” a spokesman said.
One of the exhibitors, Azza al-Qubaisi takes visitors down memory lane of risks undertaken by divers in harvesting oyster beads for the rare natural pearl by assembling jewellery collections from the Arabian Gulf.
Each piece in her stand tells a tale of struggle with the nature’s elements confronting divers in their conquest to find rare gems.
Also on display at the exhibition was an anthology ‘Qatar Naratives’, personal essays put together by a group of young women in Qatar, comprising students, professionals and community women.
The book, which was launched on May 7 at Qatar University, was printed with the assistance of Qatar University and the US Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative.
Another store that caught visitors’ fancy was ‘Wow’. The shop displays artistic objects sculptured from metal and wood.
The works were put together by different artists spread across the Far East, Italy, Laos and Thailand and are unique and fascinating. Items in the store are priced at between QR10 – QR6,000.
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