The first Bahraini art exhibition in Singapore successfully concluded

Manama, Oct. 29 (BNA): Bahrain's first ever art exhibition, the Bahrain Art Week in Singapore concluded on Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Arts- Singapore after five days of success. Featuring 18 prominent Bahrain artists, the Bahrain Art Week in Singapore was held under the patronage of HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women. It is part of Artists Across Borders, a programme to promote Bahraini artists and their work internationally. It is the first ever art exhibition in an ASEAN country. Curated by ArtBAB Fair & Programme Director, Kaneka Subberwal, the group show is titled “Legacy” – a theme chosen for all ArtBAB exhibitions around the world in 2018. The well-attended art show scripted a new narrative about modern Bahrain for Singaporeans eager to explore a contemporary and non-conventional approach to an Arabic country. More than 200 specially invited guests from the art sector, including art collectors and enthusiasts, artists, gallerists, curators, art institutions and the diplomatic community attended a VIP Preview, with Guest of Honour, Ho Meng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation. Shaikha Maram Bint Isa Al Khalifa, Director of the Office of HRH Wife of the King of Bahrain represented the Royal Patron at the Preview. “Bahraini art retains its connection to the foundational impressions built into the Kingdoms sub conscience over five centuries. This is why our theme for all the 2018 international shows has been 'Legacy’. And our artists are exploring Bahrain's rich artistic heritage through millennial eyes,” Subberwal said. The exhibition showcased 18 Bahraini artists, both established as well as emerging, whose works across varying media, explores their cerebral resilience and maturity and the way Bahraini contemporary art catches the spirit of the Kingdom’s 5,000 year-old cultural heritage and transforms it with a millennial gaze. The eighteen participating artists are Ayman Jaffar, Ahmed Al Asad, Ahmed Anan, Amina Al Abbasi, Balqees Ahmed Fakhro, Faika Al Hassan, Hesham Abdulrahim Sharif, Hanan Hassan Al Khalifa, Jamal A. Rahim, Linda Mattar, Lobna Al Amin, Lulwa Al Khalifa, Mariam Ali Fakhro, Nabeela Al Khayer, Noof Al Refaie, Omar Al Rashid, Seema Baqi and Taiba Faraj. “Our Singapore show is the third one this year which represents the very busy period that our Artists Across Borders programme has been witnessing,” said Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa. “We are looking forward to taking our Bahraini artists to a country that shares so much commonality with Bahrain: both are island nations committed to a progressive future and both countries have artists who draw from a rich fount of historical detail and a seam of art heritage.” The Artists Across Borders programme recently held a most successful show in Paris where the Bahraini art exhibition was held at two stunning art venues – the Grand Palais and at the Gallerie Rabouan Moussion on Rue Pastourelle in the Le Marias art hub. The Singapore show is part of a widening circle of overseas engagements for Bahraini artists through the Artists Across Borders programme which has previously taken them to prestigious venues such as the V&A, the Saatchi Gallery and Lancaster House in London, Bikaner House, the India Art Fair in New Delhi and a successful show in Mumbai and Cosmoscow in Russia. Strategic Partner for the Artists Across Borders programme is Tamkeen, Bahrain’s change-management agency.