This week, Dubai-based Art Jameel, an independent organization that supports artists and creative communities through various programs and initiatives, launched an open call to Saudi Arabian artists, inviting them to participate in a program under its new educational initiative called Hayy: Learning. According to Saudi Gazette, the intensive learning program, which is entitled Navigating the Contemporary Art Scene, has been designed specifically for Saudi Arabian artists and creatives.
At a media briefing to journalists from the Kingdom, Art Jameel’s director, Antonia Carver, explained that the organization is always working “to support artists and creatives not only in Saudi Arabia and the Arab countries but worldwide. Collaboration goes on with more entities concerned with arts and culture and there will be expansion plans for Art Jameel Centers in the future. Once Hayy Creative Hub is open, we will work on more.”
According to the organization’s website, Hayy: Learningg is a new intensive and dynamic initiative exploring the contemporary art scene and cultural landscapes of Saudi Arabia, and the Navigating the Contemporary Art Scene program will take place in Jeddah between September 2019 and December 2019. The four-month-long program will consist of lectures, seminars, workshops, site visits, and readings delivered through three modules.
Navigating the Contemporary Art Scene has been developed to provide Saudi Arabian artists with knowledge in a number of pertinent topics and skill areas such as giving them an understanding of regional arts histories, the art market, and marketing arts practices, exposing them to ways on how to stay on top of global trends in contemporary art concepts, curation, and thinking, as well as more administrative knowledge like application writing and legal matters.
This program is not the first time Art Jameel has engaged Saudi artists, providing support and a platform for their work. Last year, the organization launched another collaboration that highlighted Saudi Arabia’s talent in the field of arts: the first Saudi Arabian edition of GPP Slidefest. The event took place in Jeddah on November 1 at the city’s renowned Athr Gallery, in partnership with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), a renowned photographic organization also based in Dubai.
