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Ricky
Laxa
Staff
Writer
 KUWAIT:
Members of the International Women''s Diplomatic Club of
Kuwait launched their first art exhibition at AlـGhadir
Gallery in Mishref. The exhibition includes artwork created
by wives of diplomats who are currently assigned in Kuwait
and overseas. Thuraya AlـBaqsami,
a renowned artist herself and wife of a diplomat, prides in
spearheading this project that highlights and brings
together talented and skilled women who find that their art
goes beyond diplomacy.
In an exclusive interview
with AlـBaqsami,
she stated that the purpose of the exhibition is to magnify
the notion that wives of diplomats are not only interested
in afternoon hiـteas,
stylish diplomatic dinners and cultural events; they are a
group of women who share similar passion in art appreciation
and creation.
These highly skilled and
talented artists continuously perfect and enhance their
flair in art as visualized in all forms and such include
jewelry making, pottery, painting, sculpture, and
photography.
"The exchange of cultures
among these women is momentous and their notable experiences
of Kuwait are well iconized in their work of arts and such
must be seen and appreciated by others," added AlـBaqsami.
Sheikha Hanouf AlـSabah,
who leads the group, expressed her gratitude and
appreciation for the tireless efforts dedicated to come up
with such a difficult project of putting together a group
exhibition. She also lauded the members of the diplomatic
community for sharing their art for the art aficionados of
Kuwait. On the other hand AlـBaqsami
added that the election to the Parliament of four
influential Kuwaiti women in the society coincides perfectly
with the exhibition.
 Members of the
International Diplomatic Club that have their artwork
displayed include Wendy Clayton of Austria, Teresa Santacana
of Cuba, Sophie Taubert Gehan, Reka Csoori Banyai of
Hungary, Nadine Farhat of Egypt, Ira Malhotra of India,
Milena Lisuch of Slovania, Fatmeh Moniri of Iran, Shereen AlـOuran
of Jordan, Fajer AlـSabah
of Kuwait, Ruwani Herath and Ramanika Dissanayake of Sri
Lanka, Houda K. AlـNoumani
of Lebanon, Munjia Chakroun of Morocco, Katarzyna Szwedo of
Poland, Anastacia Lyakina of Russia, Jeannette Kieft Epema
of the Netherlands and Thuraya AlـBaqsami
of Kuwait.
Houda K. AlـNaamni
of Lebanese Embassy in Kuwait is a lawyer by profession
prior to being a diplomat. She stressed that art is self
expression of views, opinions, sentiments and memoirs of
life''s experiences and to call it a "hobby" is unjust
against its true essence.
AlـNoumani,
a professional artist, uses different media in creating her
art, she recalled using herbs, oils, pastels, candles and
paints and to complement the message of her art, she
utilizes other tangible matters such as lentils, coins and
others. AlـNoumani
also credits her inspiration from people; she focuses on
eyes and face as these are the distinguishing factors that
make each one person unique and different. Being Lebanese,
she never forgets the suffering of her people and that in
her art she often incorporates themes that depict pains,
sufferings and victories over impasses. She added that the
use of striking colors dictates her innate expressions of
her and her art and that portraying her and her art in a
single adjective will not suffice.
Jeannette Kieft Epema of
The Netherlands Embassy in Kuwait said that her stay in
Thailand gave her the opportunity to appreciate the beauty
of life through the ethnic culture, people and the
traditions that influence their way of life. Her return to
Finland imposed a choice between the country''s harsh
environment and Asia''s undisturbed community. In her
artwork, she depicted a young Yemeni girl who watched the
world powerless and left with endless questions and
skepticisms. The use of bold and solid colors in her
painting represents the innate feelings of a woman that
transcends beyond physical borders.
Munjia Chakroun of the
Moroccan Embassy utilizes art materials available in Kuwait.
Oil is often used in most of her artwork and that Moroccan
themes dominate her canvasses. Chakroun calls herself a
naturalist painter that captures panoramas of mountains,
desserts, oceans and structures that could be found in
Morocco. In some of her works, she depicts the circle of
life that exists between a mother and daughter and the
looking at the beauty of life in the midst of problems.
Chakroun took formal classes in Syria under the direction of
a renowned art teacher.
Shereen AlـOuran
of the Jordan Embassy prides herself on being a part of the
exhibition as it is her first time and that she feels
privilege that her artworks were much appreciated by those
who came and view them. "I can''t tell you how much this
exhibition means to me and how much encouragement these
women give me," added AlـOuran.
She praised the
organization particularly AlـBaqsami
for giving these ladies the opportunity to share to the
community the message that art knows no boundaries and such
include "diplomacy".
The exhibition will run
till May 21 at The Ghadir Gallery. For more information
visit: wwww.ghadirgallerykuwait.com
Last updated on Wednesday
20/5/2009
AL WATAN DAYLY |
