• The art week is organized by the Misk Art Institute to support talent and encourage the local art market

Sarah Al-Suhaimai

RIYADH: The third annual Misk Art Week ended on Saturday with visitors describing the event as a highlight of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning art calendar.

Art galleries in the Saudi capital opened their doors to more than 120 artists from around the world who showcased their work at a series of exhibitions, symposiums and workshops.

Alanoud, a 26-year-old Saudi visitor, said: “I really enjoyed the artworks, especially the ones about our Saudi culture. I was studying abroad and came back to my homeland.

“I am fascinated that art galleries are popular in my home city.” The art week is organized by the Misk Art Institute to support talent and encourage the local art market. Artists’ professional development and education is promoted through interactive discussions, as well as exchanging skills and direct learning.

Misk Art Week this year focused on experimenting and creating art for all ages, with 180 workshops in four halls, each looking at a specific kind of art. “Contrast in Harmony Exhibition” was among the pavilions taking part.

“The name of the exhibition is in line with the title of Misk Art Week, which is experimenting,’’ said Lulwa Al-Homoud, the exhibition coordinator.

Fine artist and educational consultant Maisa Shaldan’s visual expressions imagined the different experiences a person goes through in life, using the color blue to denote happiness and screws to reflect bad experiences.

FASTFACTS

• Art galleries in Riyadh opened their doors to more than 120 artists from around the world who showcased their work at a series of exhibitions, symposiums and workshops.
• Misk Art Institute aims to support talent and encourage the local art market. Artists’ professional development and education is promoted through interactive discussions, as well as exchanging skills and direct learning.
• This year, Misk Art Week focused on experimenting and creating art for all ages, with 180 workshops in four halls, each looking at a specific kind of art.

In the sculpture symposium, 21 sculptors from 13 countries used stone, wood, marble, iron and other natural products from the Kingdom to create a variety of artworks.

“Art is beautiful. You can relate to art in more than one way and from the moment you see the beauty of it,” Mohammed Al-Juaid, an organizer at Misk Art, said.

“But what makes this art unique is the materials. The artists used materials that came from our beloved land.” Meanwhile, artist Bodour Al-Bakri’s preferred form of expression was painting on people’s faces. Al-Bakri said that she wants to develop her idea and begin painting on bodies. She praised Misk Art Insititue, saying it offered her all the support needed to reach her artistic goals.