Dubai: Witness the splendour of Islamic art and works depicting the pre-oil Arabia through an exhibition that was opened to the public on Sunday night at the Ahmedia Heritage Guest House in Al Ras area of Dubai.
Called Islamic Art Splendour, the exhibition is a post-Ramadan initiative by the guest house to feature emerging artists and their works which strictly embody Quranic art, calligraphy, and arabesque themes. The exhibition, which runs until August 30, includes four works from the collection of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community development.
Engr Ahmad Mahmoud, assistant director of the Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality, led the ceremonial ribbon cutting on Sunday.
All the 32 artworks were a mix of traditional works made using acrylic, oil and traditional ink. The collection also featured contemporary mixed media using sequins, and real gold leaf, among others.
Archana R.D., one of the organisers and artists featured, said the exhibition was an open call to give emerging artists in the region a platform to showcase their works which centre on religion and the Arab culture.
“If you noticed the Arabic letter, it’s very artistic. Calligraphy is a very beautiful way of writing. So there is a lot of aesthetic essence to the entire language. And when you put that together with art and when you have an arabesque theme, they really come out very well,” she told Gulf News.
“If you look at my work, it’s contemporary but it has Arabic letters in it. So I’ve tried to put the old and the new together and the horse which has a lot of significance in the Quran. So that’s how I got inspired,” she added.
Habib Khan, manager of the guest house, said the exhibition featured a multi-cultural effort of eight artists of different nationalities from Serbia to India to Mauritius to Iraq.
Other works included Zaahirah Zabeen Muthy’s six versions of ‘My Mosque” and Salman Gaith’s depiction of the “old world Arabia”.
The artworks, excluding the ones from the ministry, are for sale. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the heritage guest house.
