Arab Women in Art – Introducing the Next Generation of Creatives

Description
With an upsurge in new art prizes, galleries, and cultural initiatives becoming established worldwide, a new era for art has dawned. Read on to learn more.

The Rise Of Four Arab Women In The World Of Art
Over the past fifteen years, new creative initiatives around the world, have been showing tremendous results, particularly when it comes to empowerment of women and girls.
Now, a new generation of female artists, hailing from Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, are standing proud and making them selves seen and heard, displaying inspiring talent and conviction, and showing the worldexactly what they are capable of.

Noor Aldabbagh
Noor Aldabbagh is a highly successful and motivated Saudi entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker, and art collector based in Riyadh. She has a honors degree from Harvard as well as a master’s degree from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.
In 2014, Noor became the founder of Banafsajeel, an initiative to support and contribute towards creative movements taking place in the region. Furthermore, her initiative is aimed at establishing and running programs that enable dialogue, and to help build creative movements with social value.
Noor is currently working as the Director Of Culture Incubators at the Ministry of Culture, in Saudi Arabia.

Reem Al-Bayat
Reem Al-Bayat became famous as the Saudi film director who won “Best Director” in the “Short Foreign Language Film” category at the 2017 Madrid International Film Festival, as well as “Best Director of a Short Foreign Language Film” at the Milan Film Festival that same year. Both were for her acclaimed film “Wake Me Up” which revolves around a woman named Salam, who is searching for herself and her inner passion as she struggles through a debilitating midlife crisis.
Reem claims that the story and character is partly based on herself, and her own ideals and experiences in life, but that the main focus in her work is more on the artistry than about sending out strong messages. However, she says that she is, nonetheless, a film believer and supporter of creative expression for all.

Hayat Osama
A rising star in photography, Hayat Osama, describes herself as an “autodidact”, meaning someone who teaches oneself how to do something. Her photography, she claims, is highly influenced by her sense of nostalgia for bygone eras, but says she remains very much rooted in the present where the tragamonedas Chile are.
In 2020, Hayat was named GQ’s “Breakthough Artist Of The Year” and she has been featured in an ever growing number of photography and art journals, as well as other well-known publications such as Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar.

Ghada Al-Rabea
Living and working in Medina, Ghada Al-Rabea has made a name for herself as one of the most prominent artists in the region. A visual artist with a wide range of technical skills and a sharp sense of wit, Ghada is famous for both her tongue in-cheek humour, as well as being an accomplished artist.
The Athr Gallery, which represents her art, describes her work as “representations that capture the details of Saudi daily life, showing a love of her country and strength of spirit.”
Ghada is well known for using creative mixed-mediums and materials and materials in her art, such as using candy wrappers instead of traditional paints.