GCC female artists come together to celebrate Omani Women’s Day
As the country celebrates Omani Women's Day on Wednesday, a group of eight local and GCC women artists have come together on the occasion to share their powerful and thought-provoking creations.
Titled Colourful Novels, the exhibition gathers this group of respected artists for a collaborative representation of the positive power of women.
The exhibition will run for a week at the Scientific College of Design in Seeb. “We wanted to create the spirit of womanhood standing together along with our fellow GCC artists, standing proud and strong to speak out our minds as part of Omani Women's Day. We use colours to compose our stories,” said Tahira Fida, a member of Omani Society for Fine Arts and the main organiser of Colourful Novels.
“Being a woman artist means that you have the courage to express yourself, show your understanding and have the power to use the colours and imagination to express your feelings. However, time is the biggest challenge for most women. I advise other women to take up art and have their own identity and statements, show themselves who they are and be themselves,” Tahira said.
The impressive list of participating artists includes Raya al Maskari, Hanaa al Lawati and Maryam al Wahaibi - besides Tahira - from Oman, Hissa Kala from Qatar, Fauzia Hayaat and Noora al Abdulhadi from Kuwait, and Zaahirah Muthy who is from Mauritius but based in Dubai.
“For us in Dubai, Oman is our neighbour and I came here to show the sultanate how much I love it. I really wanted to be part of this show. In Mauritius, I am surrounded by the blue sea and it gives me more imagination and blue makes me feel at peace giving me more energy. That is why most of my paintings are in blue,” Zaahirah said.
“I enjoy supporting women artists and in Dubai I organise shows specifically catering to women artists every year where international artists come together. I feel happy to give them the opportunity because we usually don't get the same opportunities like male artists. We have to show the world that women artists also have strength in whatever they do,” she added.
Zaahirah said women should not be scared to present their creativity. “I tell women artists do what makes them happy. Be a woman of your self and showcase your real identity; never be scared to show your true feelings through art.”
The exhibition officially opened on Monday evening under the auspices of Sayyida Mayya bint Hamoud al Said and will run till October 22.