‘Colors of Music’ paves way for artists
CAP exhibits the first competition of its kind in Kuwait
KUWAIT: “Colors of Music” paves the way for artists to step into a mesmerizing journey. LAPA LOYAC organized a competition that weaved together the enchanting realms of music and art, allowing artists to express diverse cultures from their evocative creations through a symphony of colors and melodies. Kuwait Times visited the exhibition at CAP (Contemporary Art Platform), where participating artists shared their experiences and described their works.
“Engaging in this competition was a truly exhilarating journey for me as an artist. The challenge of crafting my artwork within a four-hour timeframe, coupled with the infusion of classical soft music, was a challenge, however, it fueled my creative process. It was a unique opportunity to weave my artistic expression seamlessly into the universal language of music and I’m grateful for everyone who made this possible. As a portrait artist, drawing under the influence of classical soft music has been a transformative experience for me. The elegant melodies and gentle harmonies serve as a muse, guiding each stroke of my pencil or brush with a sense of grace and emotional depth,” Ala’a Murtadha told Kuwait Times.
On his part, Philip Kamble said: “I am a watercolor artist based in Kuwait for a long time. I was really challenged in this competition, as I had to draw something with acrylic, but I took up this opportunity to challenge myself. The music that I listened to was traditional Persian music. As I was listening to the music, the first thing that popped in my mind was the Persian carpet, so it is in the background of my artwork, and in the foreground is a lady dancing. As the music progressed into different beats, I thought of bringing somebody into action while they are dancing a kind of celebration.”
Reem Al-Hamdan, an admirer and rider of Arabian horses, dedicated her artwork to capturing the beauty of Arabian horses. “I started with animation, but my journey took a turn, focusing on Arabian horses, as I love their traits that resonate with our identity as Arabs, such as loyalty and dignity. Despite being uncertain of the kind of music I would get, I was willing to include an Arabian horse in my drawing. Luckily, as I randomly selected a piece of paper, it revealed traditional Arabic music, which is relevant to my preferred subject. Hence, you see an Arabian horse in my artwork coupled with abstract elements.”
Saad Al-Ghadhouri said: “I listened to melancholic Chinese music. The nature of the music led me to select contrasting colors that would symbolize joy and help balance out the dramatic elements within the artwork.”
Ziyad Al-Shami, member of the LAPA LOYAC marketing team, provided further explanation. “LAPA LOYAC is an academy specialized in arts and dance. We are here today at ‘Colors of Music’ exhibition that is happening for the first time in Kuwait. The idea is to basically merge music and fine art. Different artists applied, and after the reviewing process by our judge Amira Behbehani, the participating artists were chosen,” he said.
“During the competition, we gave the artists random genres of music without letting them know what genre they were going to listen to, because the entire competition is about making artists finish an artwork within four hours, as the music length is four hours. You can find a QR code next to each artwork displayed in the exhibition to let you know what kind of music was played while drawing the picture,” he added. Shami expressed his satisfaction, saying: “We are so happy to see different kinds of artwork from different artists that represent the diversity of our world.”