Exhibition illustrates Arab women’s love of sport

A new exhibition illustrating Arab women’s love of sport has opened at the National Football Museum in Manchester, UK, as part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture.Commissioned by Qatar Museums Authority, Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport, which runs until October 13, 2013 at the National Football Museum in Manchester, is an exhibition by the internationally renowned photographer Brigitte Lacombe and documentary maker Marian Lacombe. The title of the exhibition, Hey’Ya is Arabic for Let’s Go, reflecting the athletes’ energy and enthusiasm.The exhibition features a series of large-scale photographs of Arab sportswomen, from beginners to Olympians, from 20 Arab countries, shown alongside videos by Marian Lacombe.The exhibition was conceived by Qatar Museums Authority to encourage more Arab girls to participate in sports and comes to Manchester as part of the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture celebrations, a programme of cultural exchanges and events in Qatar and the UK co-ordinated by the British Council and Qatar Museums Authority. The event aims to forge new and support existing partnerships between the two countries in the arts, education, sport and science, while promoting an awareness and appreciation of each country’s culture, achievements and heritage.The project was shot over a period of seven month starting in December 2011 when the Arab Games were held in Doha. With the support of the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Brigitte and Marian Lacombe were able to set up their own outdoor studio, working side by side, capturing the athletes practicing different sports ranging from Tae Kwon Do to swimming and equestrian. Amongst them were a number of Qatari girls, one of them Nada Mohamed Wafa, the first Qatari female swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games. “I am proud to be featured in this amazing exhibition. I enjoyed learning about UK culture last year when I competed in the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am excited that the exhibition is travelling to Manchester as part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture; I hope people of the UK enjoy learning about my country’s culture as much as I did learning about theirs,” Nada said.National Football Museum director Kevin Moore said: “We wanted to bring something different to Manchester, a truly global sports city. The National Football Museum is committed to raising awareness of the key role that women play in developing football and other sports, both now and historically and is committed to breaking down cultural and gender stereotypes. This exhibition is part of a programme to display the works of the world’s best photographers and artists and is a continuation of the NFM’s collaborations with cultural institutions, such as the Qatar Museum Authority, from all round the world.”