BAHRAIN’S rich cultural heritage will be showcased in the form of artworks at the arrival section of the airport, starting from next month.
Thirty-five works of art by five Bahraini artists will be on display at Bahrain International Airport, as thousands of travellers from across the world enter the facility in Muharraq.
The initiative is being spearheaded by local art gallery Dar Alfann, located in Al A’ali Shopping Complex, after an agreement was signed with the Bahrain Airport Company.
Gallery owner Leena Al Ayoobi told the GDN the art pieces will be set up in the coming weeks in the airport’s arrival section.
“There will be 35 pieces featuring works from five artists, including myself, installed in the arrivals section and near the immigration counters,” she said.
“All these artworks showcase our local culture from photographs, places and people, with a small description written below every piece to inform the travellers about the art.
“Some of the works feature Bahraini women, calligraphy to even the Tree of Life.”
The other four artists are Saud Toorani, Mohsen Ghareeb, Dr Amani Al Hajri, and Khalid Al Shamlam.
Ms Al Ayoobi worked as an investment consultant before opening her gallery to promote local talent.
She said her debut pop-up exhibition at Bab Al Bahrain in 2015 was the turning point in her career.
“I participated for the fun of it and showcased paintings inspired by the Japanese Manga, which were sold out on the first day,” he said.
“This motivated me and I started to do more pieces inspired by the Manga, and now most of my work features women.”
Her work is a fusion of Arabian folk art and Manga, mainly influenced by Manga godfather Hayao Miyazaki.
She uses bold colours fused with traditional themes that bring her female subjects to life, especially with the Manga facial features.
“Women have played a big role in our society and when men used to go out for pearling, the women were left to run the entire village,” she said.
“If you search for old traditional photographs or artwork you will see men on horses or boats, but the missing part are these women who looked after the next generation.”
The self-taught Bahraini artist made waves during her first solo exhibition at the prestigious Art Dubai in 2017.
“My fusion of art that used traditional themes was appreciated by many people and most of my work was sold on the first day,” she added.
“We have a lot of talent in Bahrain and my mission is to provide a platform for young artists to showcase their work.”
Ms Al Ayoobi said that all 35 art pieces will be installed at the arrival section of the airport in the coming weeks.
It is also understood that the art pieces will be moved to the new passenger terminal building when operational.
The new terminal, as part of the $1.1 billion Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP), is set to open in October and will increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity from nine million to 14m.
It is four times the size of the existing terminal with a multi-storey car park having a total capacity of 2,700 parking spaces for passengers and visitors and a state-of-the-art retail area.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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