Noura Bouzo - One of the "O" artists

http://www.letterstobetsy.com/?p=757

Sulafa Kurdi - One of the "O" artists :)

Cacao Sampaka opening in Khobar (photographed by Sulafa Kurdi)

Sulafa Kurdi, one of the artists chosen to participate in Oasis Magazine's "O" exhibition, has started her own company (www.solara-sa.com), is a freelance photographer, and a graphic designer. She has recently covered the opening of Cacao Sampaka in Khobar (covered in Oasis Magazine's 11th issue).

www.solara-sa.com

Oasis Magazine Issue 11 - In Stores Now

The lomography camera is pointing at you!

In her debut at Oasis Magazine, Neama A. Al-Sudairy, an art-ographer that enjoys experimenting in the dark room and playing with different mediums, shows her creative wit on the cover and throughout this issue. After obtaining her BA in cultural anthropology from George Washington University, she took art courses and workshops in Boston, New York and Paris.

Al-Sudairy compares her artwork to: "an unplanned cruise in a car around busy streets in a foreign country." She says that she takes: "a big chance and I explore without any agenda. It's like you have no idea where you are, and you are getting lost along the way, and you are seeing things that are so beautiful that you are happy you are lost." And how does she end a piece? "All of a sudden, it is dusk and the sky has turned sepia tones, making it necessary to find my way back. It gets darker and the scenery has changed which alarms me a bit. I see old cemeteries, dilapidated houses, garden patches, and ancient wells that drew water for ages. I feel apprehensive, but the beauty I saw hours before stays in my head and I must put it down before it totally escapes me. I drive around and around looking for familiar landmarks, the anxiety builds up and then, I am on the right track. I have just spent precious moments creating an experience to cherish."

Check out Neama's other works throughout the 11th issue of Oasis.

Neama was one of the emerging artists chosen by Oasis Magazine's "O" art exhibition... Read more about the exhibition in the magazine and see more work from all the artists in O's catalogue below...

Neama Al-Sudairy - One of the "O" artists :)

Neama Al-Sudairy, one of the artists chosen by Oasis Magazine for its first art exhibition, was chosen by Oasis to create its latest cover and some of the delightful section headers (see above).

Samah AlRajhi - One of the "O" artists :)

At Oasis Magazine's "O" Exhibition

Samah's winning greeting card (Papermoon & Oasis Competition)

Samah's book "How Does Happiness Look Like"

Samah AlRajhi, one of the artists chosen by Oasis Magazine for its first art exhibition, shows her talent in the latest issue of Oasis (issue 11) with her winning creative design for Papermoon & Oasis' greeting card competition. Read the interview with Samah Al-Rajhi in this latest issue of Oasis. And, read all about her book in Book Reviews! :)

Al Zeid & Abujabal - "O" artists :) exhibition

Sketches & Studies: An Art Exhibition by Talal & Abdalrahman

Talal Al Zeid & Abdalrahman Abujabal, two artists who were chosen to participate in Oasis Magazine's "O" Exhibition have joined hands and are now exhibiting their work in this joint exhibition.

Venue: AD Studio

Time: April 7-9 (5:00-8:00 pm)

Location: Safwa Center, Gate 3, Ground floor, Behind Sadhan Hypermarket in Sulaimania

Huda Beydoun - One of the "O" artists :)

Huda Beydoun, one of the artists chosen by Oasis Magazine for its first art exhibition, is being recognized for her talent.

Arab News interviewed Huda Beydoun who talked about being a part of Oasis Magazine's "O" exhibition: (excerpt from the article & link)

http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/art_culture/article37010.ece

"By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR | ARAB NEWS

Published: Mar 31, 2010 15:13 Updated: Mar 31, 2010 19:29

"If I were living in a different world, Picasso would be my father and Jackson Pollock would be … my stepfather?” These are the words of a 22-year-old Saudi painter who has sold over 35 paintings in four years.

Huda Noor Baydoun is an undergraduate student majoring in special education at Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah. On graduation, Baydoun wishes to pursue postgraduate studies in art therapy.

The 22-year-old paints with a small brush on smooth surface canvas, a method that was used by Picasso. For inspiration, Baydoun looks to the celebrated painter Jackson Pollock. She uses different materials from watercolor, charcoal, oil color, pastel and, her favorites, acrylics. She also uses different canvas sizes. “It all depends on the style and vision I see for the paining. I sometimes use different supplies for one painting,” she said."...

The New York Times Mentions the "O" Exhibition & "O" artist Noura Bouzo

The article entitled "OP-ED COLUMNIST; Driving Miss Saudi" by MAUREEN DOWD (Published: March 14, 2010) mentions Oasis Magazine's "O" exhibition.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E4DE123DF937A25750C0A9669D8B63

Also in the Qatar Tribune:

http://www.qatar-tribune.com/data/20100317/pdf/main.pdf

And, in the Indian Gazette:

http://www.indianagazette.com/articles/2010/03/26/b_opinions/10037591.txt

"O" Exhibition Review by Hassan Mansouri

On February 5^th, 2010, Riyadh witnessed a rare breakthrough in the culture of modern day Saudi Arabia. Oasis, an internationally published magazine based in Riyadh, hosted an art exhibition that featured a range of artistic displays, from pictures, to paintings, and even short animation clips. The art exhibited was mainly that of the contributors of the Oasis magazine.

Historically, Arabs were major contributors to many great scientific innovations, medical advances and artistic movements. Unfortunately, it has become no longer common to hear about notable Arabic contributions to these fields, among others. The art exhibition that Oasis held aimed to reverse this trend, and highlight the often-unrecognized talent within the Arab world. It was a stepping-stone to the future of art in Saudi Arabia. Many of the featured artists were locals possessing amazing creative skill. These skills would have remained veiled had it not been for the gallery.

The exhibition was opened by HRH Prince Saud bin Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud. He, was accompanied by the director of Oasis magazine, some artists and the media, toured the gallery and thus inaugurated one of the first public art exhibitions that supported over 25 local artists in the capital of Saudi Arabia.

There was a wide range of creative expression among the artists, but a common theme hovered around the gallery – the Arab world. Paintings of women covered in their traditional headscarves and men in their local Saudi thobes were among some of the pieces presented. One large blue painting displayed Arab men and women amidst falling snowflakes that, according to the artist, represented an undercurrent of change coming to the kingdom. A picture of a local building within a sea of blurred lights attracted many onlookers and elicited many comments from the visitors.

All in all, the exhibition was a great success. The media response was very positive. The exhibition attendees were very pleased, and praised the effort put into the gallery. Furthermore, the success of the exhibition evoked an air of hopeful anticipation for future artistic contributions made on behalf of young Arab talent that will allow them to push them to the forefront of the artistic field. Perhaps this will serve as a first step in reestablishing themselves as cultural leaders in a manner that is reminiscent of Arab history.

We are all eagerly waiting to know when the next gallery will be held, and we all hope for it to be sooner, rather than later…

مجلة اويسس.محمد العمر

Check out Oasis Magazine and it's "O" exhibition on the news :)

Amal Saud - One of the "O" artists :)

Amal Saud at the "O" Exhibition (published in Layalina)

Amal Saud, one of the artists chosen to be a part of Oasis Magazine's first art exhibition, is an expert in digital art in Saudi Arabia and has taught in this field. Oasis connected her to an art education workshop for children that made headlines. Amal joined other Saudi artists in this workshop on art education where children were given direction to create works of art and thus showed the importance of art education and how much it stimulates children. The workshop was organized by: the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Bab Rizq Jameel (ALJ) both of whom are sponsors of Edge of Arabia.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010020162017

http://www.a1saudiarabia.com/tag/amal-saud/

"O" Exhibition Catalogue

The Invite

Oasis Magazine invites you to attend the first annual "O" art exhibition. The opening ceremony of "O" will take place on the 27th of January at L'Art Pur Gallery* in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Over 25 young and emerging artists will be participating in this first exhibition. The artists are from all over Saudi Arabia and from around the region. Oasis Magazine aims to support emerging artists from the region by exposing their work throughout the region and internationally.

Under the patronage of HRH Prince Saud bin Khalid Al Faisal

Opening on the 27th of January at 8:00 pm

(Wednesday by invites only - For invites, email: info@oasis-mag.com)

28th of January- 2nd of February

10:00 am - 12:00 pm & 5:00 - 9:00 pm

Special Thanks to "O" Sponsors:

Title Sponsors: PepsiCo Inc., Arts & Skills Institute, The American Embassy

Gold Sponsors: SwiCorp, Zoom Creative, Marina Inc.

Delicious Sponsors (making their debut): Framboise & Olive, Yummy Tummy

*L'Art Pur Gallery is on Takhasussi Street, next to The Electricity Building

For directions call: 01 - 2011549

Details Are Here!

"O" is Oasis Magazine's first art exhibition

27th* of January till the 3rd of February 2010

at L'Art Pur Gallery in Riyadh

*27th is by invite only... opening at 8:00 pm

We had an overwhelming response from artists around the Kingdom...We could only choose 30 artists. If your work wasn't chosen, there's always next time :)

Deadline

Thank you for all your entries. Now that the deadline has passed, we're choosing the artists. You will receive an email that will let you know that you have been chosen. All the details you need to prepare your artwork, will be emailed to you soon.

• No fees to be paid by you to Oasis
• All you need is to have your artwork ready at the venue on time
• We will not be taking any percentage of any artwork sold...it's all yous ;)
• We will keep you posted on everything you need to know

Update: date & venue

The exhibition is being planned for the end of January / early February 2010. Keep an eye on this blog to know all the details. If you'd like us to email you the updated information, please email us to info@oasis-mag.com. Enter the subject of the email as:

Oasis Exhibition Updates.

Update: overwhelming response!

The deadline has approached for artists to send in their work for Oasis' first art exhibition. We've received so many great entries. Different styles, different mediums, different personalities but all the entries have something in common: love for the arts aaaaaand talent :)

If you haven't submitted your work already then do so quickly. We're waiting for you.

Sponsor the Exhibition: support the Saudi art scene

If you or someone you know would like to support the Saudi art scene, through supporting the first art exhibition by Oasis, then email us for the full exhibition proposal.

We're planning to support young local artists in a high end venue in Riyadh. Email us at: info@oasis-mag.com

Introduction

Oasis started as a celebration of Saudi culture. Each issue is aimed at exposing a rich cultural heritage and a modern, progressive and young generation that is coming up with new ideas and excelling at them.

Oasis has always seen itself as a link between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. Articles about the newest happenings in the West and the rest of the world, aim to inspire our youth to live up to the expectations of the rest of the world while still maintaining their unique identity. Articles about Saudi Arabia’s culture and continually progressive society, Middle Eastern happenings, Islamic art, etc… have created more awareness amongst foreigners about how modern and progressive Saudi has become and gives a glimpse of the rich culture of the region.

This magazine is the first of its kind in terms of caliber to emerge from Saudi Arabia. From its inception Oasis has continuously celebrated and supported many cultural, art and various other activities as an extension of Oasis’s ideas, vision and mission. It is essential that Oasis build on its success by presenting opportunities for young and emerging artists in Saudi Arabia and encouraging them by providing the right platforms to be exposed and to pave the way for a long and prosperous future.