Colours of Deserts, a big group exhibition, recently concluded at Building 19 of Katara on a high note as over 50 young and experienced artists took part in the show that highlighted Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030.
The organisers – MAPS International, staff of Katara and all the participating artists gathered for the conclusion ceremony of the exhibition that ran from July 18 to August 1.
All the artists and the organisers were excited over the successful end of the exhibition. They cut the cake and reiterated their resolve to bring more colours of Qatar to fore in their next year exhibition.
Colours of Desert was the sixth in the annual series of exhibitions organised by the MAPS International.
The theme of this year’s exhibition was to portray the futuristic vision of Qatar and flamboyancy of the assorted artists.
The exhibition had on display as many as 102 art pieces contributed be 51 artists. The exhibition earlier had a crowed opening ceremony as the art lovers, artists’ friends and families continued to throng the exhibition as it remained open for public from 10am to 10pm.
The exhibition provided a real attraction for the visitors who remained engrossed in the unique creativity that highlighted four aspects of QNV 2030.
The show saw participating artists hailing from countries namely; Qatar, Kuwait, Russia, India, France, UK, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Korea, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran, South Africa, Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago. There were as many as 22 Qatari artists both seasoned and budding ones.
Rashmi Agarwal, an Indian artist and president of MAPS International, said: “We at MAPS always give our member-artists a chance to shine before they step into the real world as practicing artists and this was very evident at the exhibition. I am happy to see the overwhelming response from the art enthusiasts and artists’ community to our sixth exhibition in the series. I am deeply thankful to the management of Katara for their extraordinary support as usual.
“With this exhibition every year, we try to highlight the true colours of Qatar basing on different themes. The Colours of Desert is the exhibition that refers to the desert sand as it contains vibrant colours. The talented artists with diverse backgrounds highlighted the theme of QNV. The artists tried to highlight four pillars of the vision – economic development, human development, social development and environmental development. The artists used different techniques to highlight different features of the QNV in their own way. The artists used oil colours, coffee powder, digital photography etc. The art works include surrealism, realism and abstract techniques.”
Tessema Temtime, an Ethiopian expatriate artist, said: “In my painting that I exhibited showed the map of Qatar as a door of a tunnel/cave highlighting the unjust siege of the country. From the door of the tunnel, we can see all the buildings, green trees, and high flying flag of Qatar showing the unstopped development of the country. I tried to show that despite the blockade, Qatar is going forward and making progress by leaps and bounds. I used acrylic colours to make my painting beautiful.
“I have been living in Qatar for 11 years. I have been my pleasure working with people of different countries. I would like to extend my special thanks to the MAPS International for promoting and encouraging the expatriate artists. They continue to provide different platforms to the artists to express their creative talents.”
Sayeeda Habib, a young Pakistani artist born and raised in Qatar, said: “I had shown two paintings. One piece showed the traditional and modern urban Souq Waqif. The other painting showed Qatari women wearing their traditional clothes at home. I used different oil colours to highlight the past and future of the country in my paintings.
“I have been drawing and painting since I was in the fourth class. Later, I got registered with Qatar Art Society and learned different art techniques. The exhibition was a very good opportunity for the young artists to show their talent to the art lovers. I will continue taking part in such exhibitions in future as well.”
GROUP: Artists, guests and organisers of the exhibition pose for a group photo.
