www.elhambahrain.net / feb-mar 10
ENL
a bi-monthly digital magazine
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
inside, you will find... UpFront: Exciting Year Ahead.....03 ELHAM2:3 preview..........................04 ELHAM22: wrap up..........................06 MuseLand: BandHunters................08 Chaos into Order: news................09 Upcoming Events...............................11 Art in Focus..........................................12 Write On: Poems..............................16
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
UPFRONT
exciting year ahead
2010 is already looking like an exciting year ahead. Lots of new projects coming up over the next few months and this will certainly be one of our busiest and most promising season so far. Our first event of the year saw us return to an old home, where he had our very first Elham event over three years ago. So what do we have instore for you? Well, how about a new campaign to hunt down the next big thing in music for starters? Elham launched it’s MuseLand: BandHunters campaign last month and you can read more about it in this issue of ENL, and hurry up there’s still time to submit your tracks. The campaign kick star ts our preperations for what will certainly be our biggest and funkiest alternative arts festival, returning in its third edition this coming May. Watch out for more details very soon.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
This month, in February, we have a group of local, hot talents who will share with you their love for painting, poetry and creative writing. And in March, our popular Open Mic night will return once again, so get ready and warm yourselves up for a night of free-flowing creativity and talent. There’s lots more to look forward to, not least the Spring of Culture in March and a host of other events and activities. Bahrain is full of cultural spirit and artistic expression. So let’s keep it coming.
ELHAM23
colors & words
A mixture of contemporary calligraphy, abstract paintings and bi-lingual poetry will be share at this month’s Elham monthly gathering. The event, on February 23rd, will be held at Albareh Art Gallery. Egyptian Bahrain-based artist Jehan Saleh, who has been working with Albareh Art Gallery for the past five years, held her first solo exhibition at the Bahrain Contemporary Art Society last year. Jehan has been a student and observer of the many great artists who have passed through Albareh throughout the years. Her work embodies both sensitivity and transparency that reflect her own personality. Joining Jehan is a young, bright Bahraini talent. Masoma AlNoaimi is a 16-year-old student, whose paintbrush knows no limits. Her abstract paintings, filled with vibrant colors, usually speak of her past experiences. Her work will always hold strong and inspiring messages. She has participated in many art fairs and competitions, seeking new experiences to enrich her skills. “After all,” she says. “To me, art is the easiest language and paints are my survival tools”. Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Masoma Al-Noaimi
ELHAM23 Poetry is the other field in which Masooma has ventured into from an early age since the age. She enjoys writing both, English and Arabic Poems. Masooma has also recently started to get behind her camera’s lens more often. Her photography captures the beauty of those unseen moments of everyday life. Born in New Jersey, Mohammed Elmeshad, was exposed to American culture and literature from an early age. He had his first writing book at the age of five. After spending six years in Egypt during which he began to pen his stories, fiction, prose and doodles, as a teenager. After a short stint in Bahrain, Mohammed returned to the US to pursue his higher studies in Washington DC and then spent two years with the Peace Corps in Benin and West Africa. Mohammed is currently “working on a desk in a cubicle in Bahrain”. Mohammed will read some of his fiction at the event. “We’re always on the lookout for new talent and hope that people make the most of it. We want people who are serious about their art and who are committed, always open to bring in new, fresh ideas and challenge the perception of art and creativity,” Elham founder and organizer Ali Al Saeed said Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Feb I 23 I 2010
ELHAM22
wrap up Last month saw us return to the place it all started it, over three years ago. Our first ever Eham monthly gathering was held at Alriwaq Art Gallery in November 2006. In January, 2010, the newly renovated and renamed Alriwaq Art Space hosted Elham once again. The event featured an entertaining poetry recital by the charismatic David Hollywood, who had just arrived in Bahrain a few months back and was eager to get involved with Elham. Dinara Kadirova, herself a newly discovered artist, showcased some of her paintings and wire-sculptures in what she refers to as “accidental art”. Bahrain’s very own Moosa Silwadi gave a fascinating performance in which he combined large-scale sketching with sound and music. Moosa showed the audience how he created rhythms (by using sound amplifiers against his throat) from which he would create his rich line sketches.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
ELHAM22
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
wrap up
BAND HUNTERS Local bands and musicians are invited to submit their tracks with a chance to be featured in a music compilation CD and perform live on stage in front of hundreds of fans, as part of Elham’s latest initiative. Last May, Elham released Bahrain’s first of its kind compilation CD, titled MuseLand, which featured tracks recorded and produced by local musicians. The group is planning to release MuseLand Vol. 2 in time with this year’s Elham Arts Festival, to be held around early to mid May, 2010. “We wanted to expand on the idea of giving talent a platform. We hope this will get them first-hand experience in recording and producing music, playing live on stage and network with people in the industry,” said Elham founder and organizer Ali Al Saeed. Potential candidates are requested to submit their tracks in MP3 format via email to elhambahrain@yahoo.com. The deadline for sending submissions is February 28, 2010.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
in the news
CHAOS into ORDER
events
The exhibition Chaos into Order is the first retrospective of Camille Zakharia’s collage practice, spanning a period of fifteen years, from one of the earliest works by the artist in the medium in 1996 (My Playing Cards) to a work completed one month prior to the exhibition in January 2010 (The Fortune Teller). While many of these works have been previously exhibited individually, this is the first opportunity to see them as an integrated oeuvre and in a chronological framework. Z a k h a r i a ’s m a j o r p o r t fo l i o s w i l l b e represented in the exhibition, including My Playing Cards (1996), Assembling Places (1998), Cultivate Your Garden (1998), Elusive Homelands (1999-2000), Ar tist’s books (2000-2008), Markings (2009) and Artists of Arab Origin (1998-present). The exhibition, held at the Bin Matar House, Muharraq, will be open daily except Fridays, from 1-20 February 2010, 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm Wednesday, February 3, 2010
CHAOS into ORDER
events
Camille Zakharia was born in Lebanon in 1962 and spent time living in the USA, Greece, Turkey and Canada before moving to Bahrain in 1999. In addition to his engineering degree from the American University of Beirut, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design), Halifax in 1997. Zakharia currently lives with his wife and two children in Manama, Bahrain. Zakharia uses his camera to document the journey taken since his departure from Lebanon. Through photomontage, collage and print he both reveals and reconstructs his encounters with people and places, exteriors and interiors. Within this process is an exploration of home, identity and belonging in the context of a globalized condition. A particular source of fascination is urban landscape and what is represented socially and culturally by changes in the shape and size of cities. Zakharia has exhibited prolifically worldwide and received numerous accolades for his work. He was recently shortlisted for the prestigious Jameel Prize and his work was on display at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in summer 2009. Wednesday, February 3, 2010
UPCOMING EVENTS
news
Art Exhibition by Sita Dutch artist Sita Dotinga will be exhibiting her work at the World Beat Fitness Café throughout the month of March. On display will be her colourful abstract work and some new funky camels! A “meet and greet the artist” will be organised as well. Sita will share her inspirations and explain her work. For more info about this, please contact the artist, tel. 39163879. For directions and opening times, please visit the website: www.worldbeatfitness.com
Alriwaq Art Space Workshops Feb 13 - Mar 20: Photography Workshop by Nedhal Nooh every Saturday 11am-1pm for 16+ Feb 7 - Feb 23: Painting Workshop by Yasmine Rasool every Sun and Tuesday at 4:30-6pm for kids 8- 2 years old Feb 7- Mar14: Mix Media Workshop by Yasmine Sharabi every Sunday at 7-8:30pm for 16+ Feb 8 - Mar15: Photography Basics by Khalil Rasool every Monday at 7-9pm for 8 - 15 year olds Feb 8 - Feb 24: Intensive Drawing workshop by Mariam Haji every Monday and Wednesday at 4:30-6pm Feb 9 - Mar:16 Intro to Adobe Software by Jenine Sharabi and Lyndsay Johnson every Tuesday at 7-9pm for 18+ Feb 10 - Mar:17 Drawing by Mariam Haji every Wednesday at 7-9 pm for 16+ Feb 12 - Mar:19 Cartoon Animation in 2D by Mohammed Sharkawi every Friday at 10:30am-1pm for 10-15 year olds If you are interested in taking part in any of our workshops, contact us on info@alriwaqartspace.com or call 17717441
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
ART in FOCUS
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
fardan raffii
ART in FOCUS
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
abdulla jamal
ART in FOCUS
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
aldin hisyamuddin
adlin hisyamuddin
ART in FOCUS
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
WRITE ON I run.. Till silence splits me open I run.. Till I reach a vast ocean I run.. Till all my powers summon I run.. In my world of fiction I run.. and dally my favorite dolphin I run.. and battle that wild lion I run.. And I never get beaten I run.. The wind I breathe in I run.. With a face so crimson Wednesday, February 3, 2010
masoma al-noaimi a poem entitled “i run” I run.. Off flies my ribbon I run.. All my feelings in action I run.. With extreme passion I run.. Like it’s a life-time fortune I run.. Leaving a strong token I run.. For me, it’s very common I run.. Past Boston Past Britain Past the water fountain I will always run.. Like a mad bison.
WRITE ON
david hollywood a poem entitled “fruits of the passion”
Fruits of the passion, Blood of the vein, All our salvations, Citric the pain, Suffered the fault, Of the lives that he bought, By his prayers to stay sane, Through redemption his thought, Fertile the marks, Adorn bristles his frown, Garland laurels for scars, Of the thorns for a crown, Let the new days dawning, seed, The harvest of the lives we need, But not the tree to wood that cross, Be ever grown again by us, Wednesday, February 3, 2010
And splintered back, subjected, torn, With vinegar on lip to quell, His persecution, we’re reborn, The thirst, for crying “save us”, hell, And by the watered crop, his tears, Reign down upon us, grain, Until we bud from weeping fears, The yield he wished, regain, Our souls he reaped, When after all his harm, What’s sown, has stopped, His life, was cropped, To resurrect the calm.
our partners
Written, designed & produced by Ali Al Saeed Cover photo by Adlin Hisyamuddin Inside photo by Fardan Raffii Email us at elhambahrain@yahoo.com Website www.elhambahrain.net Find us on Facebook! All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce or use any of the content without permission. Wednesday, February 3, 2010