Curator Sa’id Costa gives a tour during the media preview of the ‘Encounters’ exhibition at Katara, (RIGHT) ‘The Towers of Love’ by Moataz Nasr on display and (INSET) Artist and President of Royal Academy of Arts, Christopher Le Brun. Pictures by Shaival Dalal
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Over 80 contemporary artworks by 47 artists from the UK and the Middle East are featured at the ‘Encounter: The Royal Academy in the Middle East’ exhibition which launched the Qatar UK 2013 - a year-long celebration of the long-lasting friendship between Qatar and the UK.
A result of a combined effort by the Royal Academy, Fortune Cookie Projects and Katara, the recently opened exhibition is aimed at sparking a dialogue between Royal Academy members and Middle Eastern artists, fostering cultural exchange and better understanding of one another’s artistic practices.
“Royal Academy of Arts was founded in1768 to represent the leading artists in Great Britain, to hold an annual exhibition and to have an art school,” said Charles Saumarez Smith, Secretary and Chief Executive of Royal Academy of Arts.
Since its establishment, the London-based Royal Academy of Arts has become the leading venue in Great Britain for major cultural exhibitions, “but as the art world becomes global we started doing exhibitions overseas jointly with artists in different regions. In Singapore we had an exhibition of 20 Asian artists along with 20 Royal Academy artists and this expo replicates that,” added Smith.
Christopher Le Brun, President of Royal Academy of Arts, said the Academy is entirely run by artists in its 250 years of existence. “It is one of the very few places remaining that is still entirely in the hands of artists, an establishment of artists that represents artists,” said Le Brun, whose paintings are on display at the exhibition.
“Being here in Qatar is extremely interesting for us because there is a direct encounter between the Royal Academicians and the artists from this region. This cultural exchange is very important for us,” he said.
The shifting notions of identity, reclaiming of culture through the use of patterns and motif, built environment as symbolic of the changing face of both cities and suburbs and the importance of media including photography and cinema are the common themes apparent in the artworks by the Middle Eastern artists at the expo, according to Dr Kathy Battista, one of the curators.
There is a wealth of themes and a great diversity in mediums used by the artists that could satisfy every art enthusiast’s appetite for art. From paintings and sculptures to photography and video, the artworks provide a glimpse into the current trends in the two regions. “The combination is very successful and very strong and the interaction between the artists is quite promising,” said Le Brun.
‘Encounter: The Royal Academy in the Middle East’, which also includes works of 10 artists from Qatar, is open to the public until March 6 next year at Katara Art Galleries Building 18 and 22. The Peninsula
