POWERFUL art pieces in the Last Oil Well Gallery’s ‘Together as One’ project continue to raise funds for the acclaimed non-profit women’s empowerment and advocacy organisation, Shamsaha.
A group of creatives from across the kingdom joined together at the gallery, located in Al A’ali Shopping Complex, on March 5 to start creating expressive artwork themed around the colour purple, which is associated with gender equality advocacy and International Women’s Day.
The pieces were then put on display for people to enjoy and many were snapped up three days later on International Women’s Day to support the good cause. The remaining works of art will continue to be available for a limited period.
“We had this event for two main reasons – to celebrate International Women’s Day by raising funds through the thing we love most, which is art, and to bring artists together through an open studio to foster the relationship between them and the community,” said co-curator, co-director and participating artist Tamadher Alfahal.
Alfahal’s artwork is still for sale
“As a gallery space owned by two female curators, we strive to create a creative and stimulating atmosphere where we can host events that can contribute to the community by highlighting hidden talents, or emphasising on crucial topics through art.
“In this particular event, Nada Alaradi and I, thought of creative ways to empower local women. The event consisted of open studio sessions, exhibition and poetry recital evening.”
There was also a talk led by Shamsaha that promoted gender equality in everyday life and a Spoken Word Poetry Night featuring local poets including Amal Jaffar, Kaav Ranj, Letters From Venus and Nawraa Ali.
Alwasti’s image is still up for grabs
“We wanted to grow awareness of Shamsaha and its work and particularly make the audience aware of the resources available for female victims of sexual and domestic abuse,” added Ms Alfahal.
Artworks will remain on display and for sale until the end of Ramadan.
“It was a good start for the initiative and there is still a long way to go,” she added. “The work will be available to view on our Instagram pages as well, and people can request the full catalogue.
“The artists have worked and collaborated and delivered some incredible work and it was a good opportunity to raise awareness about Shamsaha and provide some added exposure for the participating poets as well.”
Alshaikh’s piece can still be snapped up for BD30
All artworks are being sold for BD30 each and the artists involved include Ali Alshaikh, Bashayer Abdulla Ali, Fatema AbdulSaheb, Haya Abdullaziz Ismail, Heba Alwasti, Jesus Ramos Tejada, Mahfooda Mohamed, Malak Mohamed, Maryam Ali Ahmed, Marwa Ali Ahmed, Mohamed Alaabar (Leon D), Mona Alaradi, Nada Alaradi, Raghad Alyousef, Ramah Alhusseini, Ruhaina Alasfour, Samira Salah, Wafa Abdulla Ali, Zain Almutawa and Ms Alfahal.
For details, visit @lastoilwell on Instagram.
mai.alkhatib@gulfweekly.com
&uuid=(email))