Visual arts all over Qatar, from painted murals to the 5th International Art Festival

euronews (in English)

Qatar 365 brings you a selection of the best visual arts experiences in Doha, from the 5th edition of the Qatar International Art Festival to the World Wide Walls initiative, which aims at widening the colours palettes of the urban areas.

Transcript

00:00 (water rushing)

00:02 - If you have a blank wall, like you don't think about it.

00:05 You walk past it, but when you add artwork to it,

00:07 it allows walls to become alive.

00:09 - I believe art is very healing.

00:12 I use it as my own therapy for healing.

00:15 (upbeat music)

00:17 - Hello, welcome to Cutter 365 with me, Adil Halim.

00:22 On this episode, we take a deep dive

00:24 into the world of visual arts.

00:26 We've come to one of the largest arts festivals

00:28 in the country.

00:29 The fourth edition of the Cutter International Arts Festival

00:32 brings together more than 300 global artists

00:34 from over 60 countries,

00:36 ranging from well-established creatives

00:38 to emerging talents.

00:39 I got a chance to speak with artists

00:40 and art lovers alike to find out

00:42 about this year's highlights.

00:44 - These buttons are made from the stones

00:51 and parts of glass.

00:54 They were also for so long in the water,

00:56 so they are not sharp anymore.

00:58 You can touch it, they are not sharp.

00:59 - Did you find it on the beach?

01:01 - Yes, I found it on the beach.

01:02 Someone's waste is my treasure.

01:04 - Irena Tosheva then turns that treasure

01:07 into sustainable fashion.

01:09 The Macedonian designer believes the fashion industry

01:12 can help create a better world

01:14 if people buy fewer clothes.

01:16 Instead, she prefers sustainable pieces

01:20 which last longer and are made with natural fabrics

01:23 and better quality materials.

01:25 - Sustainability for me personally

01:27 means when you're thinking from the beginning,

01:29 you're thinking of the end.

01:31 So you consider the fabric that you're using,

01:33 the whole story from the beginning to be practical.

01:37 If we are talking about clothes,

01:38 your client can use it regularly,

01:40 can wash it easily to not pollute the environment

01:43 and in the end to not put it in the bin

01:46 just to find it some new life.

01:48 - Irena is displaying her sustainable clothing

01:50 for the very first time outside of Macedonia

01:53 at the Qatar International Arts Festival.

01:57 She's one of the first fashion designers

01:59 to showcase a collection in the fest's five year history,

02:02 which has predominantly been a forum for visual artists.

02:05 With the theme of environment and sustainability,

02:09 Expo 2023 Doha was the ideal venue

02:12 for this year's arts festival.

02:14 - Qatar always gives a platform to worldwide artists

02:17 and this year we have around 302 artists

02:20 from 63 countries and around 475 artworks.

02:25 So this year when they came to know

02:26 that Expo is starting from October,

02:29 so we thought that we have the same theme,

02:31 so let's collaborate with Expo

02:33 and let's do this festival here.

02:35 - The festival's founder says

02:36 with the participation of 12 global galleries,

02:39 the arts festival provides a professional platform

02:42 for artists to exchange ideas and experiences.

02:45 It also helps international artists

02:46 sell their pieces in Qatar without taking a commission.

02:50 Reshmi says the annual festival is here to stay

02:53 and she's proud of its growth from year one to today.

02:57 - It's lots and lots of difference I can see.

02:59 Now people, they wait for Qatar International Arts Festival

03:02 that when it will announce the next edition.

03:04 We already got the confirmation for 2024 dates and 2025

03:09 and it is getting more popular.

03:10 People, they are waiting for to come here.

03:12 They want to come here

03:14 and it is a very beautiful platform for selling also.

03:16 - Sara Al-Hail agrees.

03:19 The Qatari artist works in oil and gas by day,

03:22 but she says pop art is her passion.

03:24 - One day, I just decided to have a change,

03:28 to change in my life or to add something,

03:30 a flavor of my life.

03:32 So I decided, let me,

03:33 I didn't have any idea that I would do arts

03:36 at the beginning.

03:37 So I just hold a pen and then I started to draw

03:40 and then I liked it and then I went deep to it

03:44 until I started to produce my art pieces.

03:47 - Sara began her artistic journey in 2018

03:51 at the same time as the first edition of this festival.

03:55 During that period,

03:56 she has noticed an increased appreciation for the trade.

03:59 - In old days, when they asked about the cost

04:02 of an art pieces, they got shocked.

04:04 That it is very expensive.

04:05 Nowadays, you can see that people understand art

04:08 and the beauty of art and the joy that can bring

04:11 to your house, to your place,

04:13 to your apartment, to everywhere.

04:14 - Qatar is no stranger to public art.

04:21 With 50 murals cover walls across Doha

04:24 with more on the way.

04:25 Now an international mural festival

04:27 that showcases the work of local, regional

04:30 and international artists has landed here

04:32 at the old Doha port.

04:34 I got a chance to speak with World Wide Walls founder,

04:36 Jasper Wong, to find out why he believes mural arts

04:39 can lead to urban beautification.

04:41 Why does public art breathe new life into urban spaces?

04:48 - I think what it does is,

04:50 it allows walls to become alive.

04:51 So if you have a blank wall,

04:53 like you don't think about it.

04:53 You walk past it,

04:55 you know, it's everyday, it's there.

04:57 You don't ever pay any mind to that wall.

05:00 But when you add artwork to it,

05:01 or an art installation,

05:03 the people stop.

05:04 They take photos.

05:05 They want to try to find out who it is,

05:07 go with the story, what the messages are.

05:09 And it allows sort of like more foot traffic,

05:11 creates more vibrancy in those neighborhoods.

05:13 And it just helps to sort of bring

05:14 the whole neighborhood up.

05:16 - Now you've got 13 artists featured here,

05:19 local, regional, international.

05:21 What does a platform like this mean for an artist?

05:24 - Well, it allows artists to sort of share their work,

05:26 to share their cultural stories,

05:27 or share it in a place where people

05:29 are familiar with their work as well.

05:30 It also helps them to connect with these local communities,

05:33 connect with other artists,

05:34 both locally and visiting,

05:35 and help to sort of bring up everyone.

05:37 - Now art can be very subjective, right?

05:39 So especially when you talk about something like graffiti,

05:41 there's proponents and then there's,

05:43 you know, critics.

05:44 Is that the same in mural art?

05:46 - Yeah, absolutely.

05:47 Absolutely.

05:47 Like, you know, there's people that love it,

05:48 people that hate it.

05:50 Like when I first started doing the project years ago,

05:51 people thought,

05:53 people felt that I was destroying the neighborhood.

05:55 There was actually even this anti-Jasper group of seniors.

06:00 Like, it wasn't like anti-graffiti,

06:02 or anti-street, or anti-murals.

06:04 It was like anti-me personally.

06:06 And they would walk around the neighborhood

06:07 trying to find me,

06:08 so just so that they could berate me.

06:09 - That must be kind of scary

06:11 with an angry mob of seniors coming.

06:12 - Exactly, always, right?

06:13 So then, you know, there's always that.

06:15 You know, there's people that like,

06:16 dislike what we're doing,

06:18 and what we've seen is the complete opposite.

06:19 And what we've seen is that what it does is,

06:21 as I said earlier,

06:23 like it makes neighborhoods feel alive.

06:23 You know, it creates foot traffic.

06:26 With that, it makes areas safer.

06:28 If there's more people around, it becomes safer.

06:30 It feels safer because it feels more vibrant,

06:32 there's more color.

06:33 As there's more people around,

06:34 they're discovering local shops, local restaurants,

06:37 and they're partaking in those.

06:38 And it helps to boost these sort of local economies,

06:40 and then more people want to build businesses

06:42 and do stuff out there too.

06:43 So it helps to like, sort of, you know,

06:45 raise up a community,

06:46 and raise up a neighborhood,

06:47 and sort of take it down.

06:49 - Could you have ever imagined,

06:50 when you started,

06:50 and you're being shooed out of areas,

06:52 to now being welcomed into public spaces?

06:54 - I mean, would have never imagined, you know,

06:57 like to be here in Doha.

06:59 Like, it's beyond my wildest dreams.

07:01 And we've done it in over 25 cities.

07:03 So I've traveled to all over Japan, to Korea,

07:07 and we've even done projects in Kathmandu,

07:10 in Rotterdam, in Sweden.

07:13 Like, we've done it like all over the globe.

07:14 (upbeat music)

07:18 - It's been said, art is a mirror of the mind,

07:20 and every masterpiece will forever capture

07:22 the artist's thoughts,

07:24 whether calm or turbulent.

07:26 That's why art is increasingly being used

07:27 to push boundaries of expression,

07:29 and a way to break social stigmas as a form of therapy.

07:33 Laila Humayra takes a look at how art uses color

07:35 and creativity as a healing tool.

07:37 (upbeat music)

07:40 - Vibrant, colorful, and feminine.

07:43 That's how Sally Khoury,

07:45 or better known as Sally K,

07:46 would describe her style.

07:48 - My work is inspired by capturing the essence

07:52 of empowered femininity, confidence,

07:54 and the strength that's inherent,

07:57 basically within every woman.

08:00 - The freedom to experiment with nature and colors

08:03 bloomed into a way to communicate with her audience.

08:06 (upbeat music)

08:08 - Creativity is a way to express yourself

08:11 in ways that sometimes you can't with words.

08:13 Color has a lot of meaning,

08:15 and it evokes emotions.

08:17 So I think being able to create

08:21 and have this nonverbal communication

08:23 between the viewer and the person is very important.

08:26 (upbeat music)

08:27 - While Sally uses flowers to light up an empty wall,

08:31 Carmela's artwork is a vivid contrast of colors

08:34 with equally powerful messaging,

08:37 like her piece on display she calls Optimistic.

08:40 (upbeat music)

08:41 - Optimistic is basically the darkness

08:44 that we face when we are facing negativity

08:47 and tribulations in our life.

08:48 If we choose to find the positive in life and things,

08:52 we can see that there's optimism all around us.

08:55 - Carmela's raw artwork are the results

08:57 of channeling her own life experiences

08:59 and turning what was once painful

09:02 into a powerful source of self-expression.

09:05 (upbeat music)

09:07 - I describe my style as emotional abstract.

09:10 I believe art is very healing.

09:12 I use it as my own therapy for healing,

09:15 going through childhood trauma as a kid,

09:17 childhood abandonment.

09:19 - And Carmela believes the deeper she goes

09:22 into exploring her craft, the more she thrives.

09:25 - I believe if you put boundaries on expression,

09:28 you set yourself up for a blockage

09:30 and you can't fully express yourself

09:32 the way that you would like to.

09:33 The sky's the limit, the universe is the limit.

09:36 - Whether you paint as a pastime or a passion,

09:39 the use of color in art is not only stimulating

09:42 for the mind, it also helps regulate moods

09:45 and is known to calm anxiety.

09:48 Artists themselves are increasingly mindful

09:50 of the art they create and more are using chromotherapy

09:54 to make conscious, impactful masterpieces.

09:57 Hala Al-Jafari is one of 30 artists

10:01 who displayed her work at Qatar Foundation's

10:04 Artful Minds exhibition at the Multaka Gallery

10:07 in Education City.

10:09 - My work is titled Breaking Bread.

10:12 I used oil on canvas and in this work,

10:16 I tried to show the importance of social connections.

10:20 - The pieces were specifically made and chosen

10:23 to raise awareness on mental health.

10:26 - I used little bit of blue as a sign

10:29 for bad mood or depression.

10:32 I wanted to everyone who look at my painting

10:35 to feel related in some way and for the people

10:40 who struggle with mental health issues

10:42 to know that they are not alone.

10:44 - A group of people huddled together in conversation.

10:48 That's one way to interpret the need

10:50 to have deeper discourse about mental health.

10:54 But Hala says there's more meaning to it.

10:57 - My message is to everyone,

10:59 either they're struggling with mental health or not,

11:03 to be aware or mindful about the circle of people

11:06 that is surrounding them,

11:09 the people who share their stories with.

11:12 After all, the most important person for yourself is you.

11:17 - While Hala hopes that anyone who sees her artwork

11:20 can find some peace of mind,

11:22 she also wants to inspire them

11:25 to create their own masterpieces.

11:27 - Just go ahead and try some kind of art,

11:31 any art you want, and you will immediately feel the relief.

11:36 (upbeat music)

11:39 - Whether you use art for therapeutic reasons

11:42 or just a fun getaway from the everyday,

11:44 we hope you enjoyed this episode of Qatar 365.

11:47 And that's all the time we have for now.

11:49 For more, check out euronews.com

11:51 and connect with us through a hashtag.

11:53 Thanks for watching.

11:54 I'll see you next time on Qatar 365.

11:56 (upbeat music)

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