NEW DELHI: India’s biggest art fair opened in New Delhi this week with a focus on homegrown artists and exhibits inspired by contemporary themes such as the worst floods in the Kashmir region in more than a century.
A smorgasbord of works by 1,100 artists lured art lovers, gallerists and gawkers to a cavernous exhibition space in the capital, cementing the annual fair’s reputation as one of South Asia’s top cultural events.
Each year, an estimated 100,000 visitors flock to the four-day fair with entry tickets that cost no more than $6.
The city’s glitterati strolled past exhibits by 85 galleries at Thursday’s preview clutching glasses of red wine, with several displays sold before the seventh edition of the fair opened for public viewing on Friday. The show runs until Sunday.
“We’ve had five or six sell-out booths and several galleries have done exceptionally well,” founder Neha Kirpal told Reuters.
India’s art scene has been expanding for the past few years, with auctioneer Christie’s second Mumbai auction in December generating sales of $12 million. A report by analysts ArtTactic said confidence in the market was at its highest since 2007.
For four days each year, New Delhi becomes a center for the visual arts, with the India Art Fair at the hub of several spin-off events such as museum shows, seminars and glamorous parties.
“Beyond the fair itself, the effect it has on the art scene in Delhi at large ... and almost collaterally, the rest of Delhi programs its art agendas,” said artist Jitish Kallat, who said he would be lucky to attend half the events on the schedule.
A life-size wooden replica of a typical Kashmiri house lies on its side at the fair’s entrance, a reminder of the destruction wreaked by floods in the Himalayan state last year.
Kashmiri artist Veer Munshi, who lives in Delhi, took nearly three months to complete the house, and said he would use proceeds from its cost of about 3 million rupees ($48,500) to rehabilitate artists and writers from his native land.
Inside the fair, among an array of paintings, sculpture, video installations and photographs is another wooden exhibit — one inspired by a militant assault on the city of Mumbai in 2008.
Mumbai artist T V Santhosh’s installation tilts the city’s historic railway station at an angle, with several digital clocks on its walls counting down time in the Mumbai landmark.
Elsewhere, metallic beads take the shape of four men hanging on for dear life on a Mumbai train while an army of giant ants, with their bodies sculpted from motorbike parts, bask under the winter sun.
Like other years, customs duty and red tape threatens to temper the enthusiasm of Western gallery owners attending the fair.
“I was told that a lot of the galleries from the United States stopped (coming) because of all the taxes and all the paper work involved,” said Clarita Brinkerhoff, whose Florida-based gallery is exhibiting for the first time in India.
Brinkerhoff’s metal sculptures of peacocks, India’s national bird, studded with Swarovski crystals found favor with the Delhi crowd, with five of her exhibits sold on the first day.
She wants to be back next year, but said she hoped “the process would not be so complicated.”
It may be years before New Delhi can hope to match art fairs in Hong Kong or Dubai, but director Kirpal is unperturbed. She describes India as an emerging market in contrast to several art markets that have stagnated.
“The good news is that we are at the beginning of our growth curve for the market,” she said. “There’s only one way to go.”
Art fair turns India’s capital into art hub
Art fair turns India’s capital into art hub
Sotheby’s to auction rare collection of Islamic arms, armor
DUBAI: On Apr. 29 and 30, Sotheby’s will auction pieces from the Philippe Missillier Collection of Arms and Armor, one of the most important and rarest collections of its kind to come to auction.
The collection, which spans over 100 lots representing more than 500 years of history, features unique and iconic pieces from the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires. Before the auction, the collection will be exhibited at Sotheby’s Dubai in DIFC from April 7-11 and April 25-28.
It was assembled by Philippe Gilles Rene Missillier (1949-2022), a scholar and collector who spent more than 50 years studying, acquiring, visiting museums and documenting artifacts to master the subject of his interest: Arms of the Islamic world.
In 1988, a large majority of his collection was exhibited in Paris in the exhibition Splendour des Armes Orientales (The Splendor of Oriental Armor), marking the largest exhibition of its kind over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Sotheby’s sale marks the first time his collection is being seen since then.
“This is a landmark sale,” Benedict Carter, Sotheby’s senior director and head of auction sales, Middle East, told Arab News. “For us, this is really the most significant sale in terms of Islamic arms and armor that has been staged.”
Highlights from the collection include weaponry across various Islamic dynasties from Spain to Indonesia, with the star of the auction one of a small group of personal swords belonging to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, whose reign from 1629-58 marked a period of importance for Mughal architecture and cultural achievements. The sword carries the inscriptions “World-Capturer,” in an affirmation of Shah Jahan’s skills as a military commander. The sword is recorded in the accounts of Venetian traveler Niccolao Manucci, who documented the personal swords of Shah Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, who most likely inherited it from his father.
The sword’s provenance is fascinating. It entered various prestigious collections during the 19th and 20th centuries, including those of Charles Canning, governor-general and first viceroy of India, and most recently that of George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood.
Neither Sotheby’s nor Christie’s has staged a standalone sale for arms and armor in about two decades, making the sale significant.
“Occasionally, in our various owner sales every April and October we have (arms and armor) pieces that have come up,” added Carter. “But this is the first time in recent memory that we’ve had a major single owner collection associated with a name that is synonymous with refined taste and deep scholarship.”
Highlights from Art Week Riyadh: Selected works by some of the Saudi artists participating in the inaugural edition
RIYADH: Selected works by some of the Saudi artists participating in the inaugural edition of Art Week Riyadh, which begins April 6.
Maha Malluh
‘X-Rayed 1’
The Najd-born artist is one of the most significant figures in the Kingdom’s contemporary scene. Several of her works will be on show at AWR. This one comes from her “X-Rayed” series, in which Malluh used images from an actual x-ray scanner of an actual passenger’s luggage, as would be seen at airport security when possessions are “being targeted and scrutinized,” the artist has written. “What makes these images even more peculiar is that the suitcases contain cassettes (labeled in Arabic) that are linked to dogmatic interpretations of Islamic practice,” she continued. “It is these ideas, when exported, which have led to several social evils, including the export of extreme thinking and rigid philosophy.” Like many of Malluh’s other series, “X-Rayed” examines “my own culture and its transformation from tradition to modernity.”
Lulwah Al-Homoud
From ‘The Language of Existence’
This work forms part of the influential Riyadh-born artist and calligrapher’s “The Language of Existence” series, in which she presented interpretations of the myriad Arabic names of Allah. According to her gallery, it “reimagines language as a universal visual system, transcending conventional meaning to create a new form of communication.” Al-Homoud created this ‘language’ by “deconstructing the letters of the Arabic language by using mathematical squares to compose new codes for each letter. With these codes, I inscribe the 99 names of God,” she has written. “The first step towards enlightenment is to search for the inner. It is this inner truth that leads to the light of knowledge. My art is concerned with the inner veracity of everything. It is a deep look at creation and its hidden rules that led me to the truth of existence…”
Ahmed Mater
‘Hulm’ (Dream)
In his 2011 work “Cowboy Code II,” Ahmed Mater used plastic gun powder caps glued onto a wooden board to spell out, in English, the various ‘rules’ he had imagined. In this more recent work, Mater uses the same technique to present the Arabic word hulm, which translates to ‘dream.’ Whether that’s an instruction, a comment on what visitors to Riyadh can experience, or an explanation of his inspiration for the piece is unclear, but it’s one of a number of similar works the 45-year-old Tabuk native — arguably the most influential Saudi contemporary artist — will be presenting at AWR (others include “Hurriya” (Freedom) and “Salam” (Peace)).
Manal AlDowayan
‘Totem 1 (Dearest Women)’
The prolific Dhahran-born artist represented the Kingdom at the Venice Biennale last year (with “Shifting Sands: A Battle Song) and, unsurprisingly, is participating in perhaps the most significant arts event yet to take place in the Kingdom. Among several of her works on display at AWR is this piece from 2018, which AlDowayan has described as “an attempt at creating a permanent memorial of a fragmented moment.”
She continued: “I look at the symbols used on the covers of books written by the religious men to address women and their bodies. I attempt to reform the symbols into new representations so that the invisible becomes visible.” The work is not, she stressed, “an attempt to critique or analyze history, but more of a totem of healing to help resolve the past in order to engage with the present, and time in general.”
Bashaer Hawsawi
‘Warm Space 1’
Much of the Jeddah-based visual artist’s practice revolves around found objects and mixed media, exploring, according to theartists.net “notions of cultural identity, cleansing, belonging and nostalgia.” Cleansing is the focus of this piece, which — like several other works by Hawsawi — uses the red-bristled broom heads familiar to anyone living in the Gulf and indicative of the remembered daily routines from which Hawsawi draws inspiration for much of her work. Cleansing also carries a spiritual symbolism — the purification of the self — that features regularly in Hawsawi’s work.
‘Theater Tour’ initiative celebrates local culture across Saudi Arabia
- Award-winning play ‘Bahr’ debuts in Baha, with performances in Jubail, Dammam, Al-Ahsa to follow
- New project boosts local theater, community engagement and cultural awareness nationwide
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Theater and Performing Arts Commission launched the “Theater Tour” initiative on Thursday to bring exceptional theatrical performances to cities, governorates and villages across the Kingdom.
The project aims to promote the cultural and performing arts scene while encouraging community engagement, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The first phase begins with the play “Bahr” (Sea), running from April 3 to May 3, the SPA added.
The production will debut in Baha from April 3-5 at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Theater in the Cultural Center, before moving to Jubail from April 17-19 at the Royal Commission’s Conference Hall in Al-Fanateer.
It will then continue in Dammam from April 24-26 at the Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University Theater, and conclude in Al-Ahsa from May 1-3 at the Society for Culture and Arts’ Theater.
The project is part of the commission’s broader efforts to raise awareness of the theater and performing arts sector, while ensuring that cultural services are accessible in underserved areas and to marginalized communities, according to the SPA.
It also aims to support local theater groups, boost theatrical production and strengthen the cultural sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product.
Additionally, the initiative fosters investment opportunities and serves as a platform for discovering and nurturing emerging talent, the SPA reported.
The play “Bahr,” written by Abdulrahman Al-Marikhi and directed by Sultan Al-Nawa, has received critical acclaim, winning several prestigious awards, including for best actor, best script, and best overall production at the inaugural Riyadh Theater Festival, as well as best musical effects and best director at the 19th Gulf Theater Festival.
Art Week Riyadh: A ‘constellation of events’ that ‘pushes the boundaries’
- Curatorial team discuss the aims and intentions behind inaugural edition of AWR
RIYADH: The inaugural Art Week Riyadh begins April 6 in the Kingdom’s capital. A non-commercial initiative, AWR builds on the city’s already thriving art community while inviting international artists and art lovers to join in.
Princess Adwaa bint Yazeed bin Abdullah, head of Art Week Riyadh, explained the event’s inspirations and goals in a statement, writing: “Art Week Riyadh is born from a belief in the power of art to inspire, challenge, and connect us. Riyadh has long been a city of growth, and through this platform we hope to contribute to its cultural future — one that is open, dynamic and deeply rooted in both heritage and innovation.”
Curator Vittoria Mataresse heads a team including associate curators Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit-Lelandais and public program curator Shumon Basar who have worked tirelessly across multiple time zones over several months to bring the event to life.
“It was very important for us to be playful and not have the kind of rigid structure or format we’re used to seeing. Art Week Riyadh sits in between an exhibition and an art fair. It’s really a constellation of events,” Matarrese tells Arab News. “Unlike major art events that often impose universal themes and rely on globally established artists, we wanted to work within the frame of a regional art ecosystem, embracing the textures, the urgencies, the sensibilities of the Arabian Peninsula. We are trying to retrace something which is very specific and, in this way, we propose a critical departure (from the normal) format.”
The theme of AWR’s inaugural edition is “At the Edge” and the event brings together more than 45 galleries from the Kingdom, the wider Arab world, and beyond. There are three main sub-themes: “Everyday Life,” “Landscapes,” and “Motifs.”
JAX District in Diriyah will host three major exhibitions offering an expansive insight into Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity. A number of established Saudi artists whose studios are based in JAX will also be opening their doors to the public. Meanwhile, in central Riyadh, more than 15 galleries housed in the Al-Mousa Center will present exhibitions, and a wider program across the city will feature several talks and collaborations.
Gandit-Lelandais, who has worked in the region for more than two decades focusing on contemporary Arab art, tells Arab News: “Art Week Riyadh really is different, because the market and the ecosystem is different. I think it’s about making people stop implementing the European and American formats into different places because they don’t have to fit — the format can be adapted.”
The team have designed the event as “an umbrella for everyone to gather under,” Gandit-Lelandais says. “It is inclusive and it’s meant to be niche — it is for the public, and for the art enthusiasts and for the collectors.
“With Riyadh growing so fast, the kind of dialogues that we have built are so important to bring people here, but not with a Western look at how art should be,” she adds.
Harasani, the lone Saudi in the curatorial team, tells Arab News: “I’m really excited to link our local artists and our local scene (with the world). I think an educational foundation is super-exciting and super-necessary at this time for artists, art practitioners, young collectors and everyone that comes under that umbrella. We wanted to allow these generations of artists from Saudi Arabia to narrate themselves, beyond the usual framework.”
While none of the curators live in Riyadh, they all offer a nuanced and sensitive take on the capital.
“I’ve been working in Riyadh so much that it does feel like a second home,” Harasani says. “Riyadh is culturally different from Jeddah, where I’m from, and it was interesting to delve into the art scene. I thought it would be similar to the Hajazi scene, but it’s completely different. It was a massive learning experience for me to see that — given that we’re all from Saudi — there are so many different ways of working, ways of producing, ways of communicating.”
Riyadh’s rapid expansion, both physically and culturally, over the past decade contributes to the richness and diversity on show at AWR, the curators say.
“That’s the beauty of the Middle East, 10 years here is 100 years elsewhere,” Matarrese says. “I think what’s really smart about what Saudi is doing right now is they’ve learned from other people’s mistakes and they’re looking at how to navigate this in a better way.
“There’s one thing that is important in the DNA of what we are doing,” she continues. “Our visitors are not going to know what to expect. We really pushed the boundaries of what this could be showing; we are trying to deconstruct the conventional display models, to experiment with something else and re-articulate the dialogue between the different parts of the art world.”
For Harasani, the event is another marker of the artistic progress that has been made in the Kingdom in recent years.
“This did not exist when I was growing up,” she says. “The fact that we can see our dreams come to fruition now — and (see) bigger projects like Art Week Riyadh — I feel very lucky and privileged to be a part of that.”
New York Arab Festival returns with diverse lineup
- The New York-based dance music collective showcases beats from the Arab, Asian, and Pan-African diasporas
DUBAI: The fourth edition of the New York Arab Festival (NYAF) runs from April 1- May 30, with headlining acts including DJ duo Haza Party.
The New York-based dance music collective showcases beats from the Arab, Asian, and Pan-African diasporas. The festival will play host to a special version of the collective’s signature “Haza Souk” event, featuring a lineup of DJ sets, merchandise outlets and food.
On April 8, Palestinian poet Ahmad Almallah will present his latest book “Wrong Winds” while April 13 will see Palestinian rockstar, singer and songwriter Rasha Nahas perform at Brooklyn Art Haus.
A double bill dedicated to the centennial of dancer Samia Gamal will take place at the Jalopy Theatre on April 16, with New York based choreographers and dancers Angie Assal and Soumaya MaRose celebrating the history of the late Egyptian choreographer.
Meanwhile, the NYAF Arab Shorts Film Program at the Bartos Screening will feature the work of filmmakers including Alia Haju and Khaled Jarrar.
From May 1-4, NYAF will collaborate with experimental theater club La MaMa ETC for a “festival within a festival” celebrating Arab artists in four multidisciplinary “happenings” featuring spoken word performances based on texts by the late poets Etel Adnan and Joyce Mansour, dance, music and multimedia visuals. Performers include Andrew Riad, Nadia Khyrallah, Sarah Brahim, and Amr Kotb, among others.
On May 14, Lebanese American singer-songwriter H.Sinno’s “Poems of Consumption” — which turns Amazon customer reviews into pop songs — will be presented.
NYAF was established in 2022 to commemorate Arab American Heritage Month and “fight the erasure of Arab and Arab American identities from NYC, a place Arabs have called home for over three centuries,” the festival said in a released statement.
