Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture launches sculptural symposium series

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture has launched the first of a series of arts initiatives that form part of the country’s cultural vision for 2020.

The Ministry invited 20 international and local artists to hand-sculpt, in-situ, free-standing monoliths over a three-week period late last year using blocks of white marble imported from Oman.

The sculptures are now on display at the inaugural Red Sea International Sculpture Symposium, being held in Al Balad, Jeddah’s historic district, overlooking the famous waterfront and facing Midan Al Beyaa.

On display is work from Saudi artists Essam Jameel, Rida Alalawi and Kamal Almualem; European artists Michael Levchenko (Ukraine), Kamen Tanaev (Bulgaria), Jose Carlos Cabello Millan (Spain), Mario Lopes (Portugal), Jo Klay (Germany), Sylvain Patte (Belgium), Butrint Morina (Kosovo), Aggnessa Petrove (Bulgaria), Anna Maria Negara (Romania) and Anna Rasinska (Poland); Asian artists Takeshita Kubo, Fan Chilung-Lien and Lin Li Jen, spanning from Japan to Taiwan; and neighbouring Arab artists Ali Jabbar (Iraq), Hisham Abdulmuty (Egypt) and Hany Fisal (Egypt).

The Riyadh Symposium, the second Symposium of the series, is open now.