{"id":56818,"date":"2020-01-19T12:53:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T12:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/?post_type=in-the-news&p=56818"},"modified":"2021-06-23T07:12:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T07:12:52","slug":"fady-jameel-discusses-influence-of-arts-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"in-the-news","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/in-the-news\/fady-jameel-discusses-influence-of-arts-and-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Fady Jameel discusses the important influence of arts and culture for future societies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The role of art and culture is increasingly recognized as having an impact far beyond creative circles, acknowledged as having a tangible influence on our economy, wellbeing, society and education. Considering art as a form of communication: it is inclusive and <\/span><\/strong>nondiscriminatory, able to unify in a progressively divided world. In a recent interview with Asharq Al-Awsat<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em>, Fady Jameel<\/a>, President International, Community Jameel<\/a>, discussed this topic and how Art Jameel<\/a> is at the forefront of this movement in the region – and beyond. <\/span>The interview is shared below, translated from the original Arabic, with kind permission of Asharq Al-Awsat; read it in its original location here.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"FadyWhat would you say has been Art Jameel\u2019s influence on the region?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>My family founded Art Jameel<\/a> back in 2003, as part of our wider philanthropic endeavour Community Jameel<\/a> \u2013 but for several generations now, we\u2019ve been arts enthusiasts, and aware of the ways in which access to culture and ideas can contribute to the development of society in such transformative ways. \u00a0<\/p>\n

My grandfather, the late Abdul Latif Jameel, helped disadvantaged people in the fields of healthcare and education, and today, Community Jameel is dedicated to supporting social and economic sustainability; Art Jameel takes the same sentiment but applies it to the field of culture. \u00a0We work on the principle that the arts are for everyone \u2013 from school children through to adults of all backgrounds \u2013 and that creativity is a pillar of a healthy, discursive, future-proofed society.<\/p>\n

What influence have we had on the region? \u00a0Well, we think first and foremost about impact. \u00a0We\u2019ve been working in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere in the region for many years, in partnership with both governmental and private organisations, running heritage arts schools, plus other grass-roots projects.\u00a0 We have long-term partnerships with the V&A in London and the Met in New York, among other international institutions, making sure artists from the Middle East are represented in the world\u2019s most popular museums.\u00a0 \u00a0And in 2018 we opened our first major contemporary institution — the Jameel Arts Centre<\/a>, Dubai. \u00a0The Jameel, as it is becoming known, is the first contemporary art museum in Dubai, and the response over the past year has been incredible \u2013 from the local community, schools and artists, through to the international art world.<\/p>\n

\"Jameel<\/p>\n

At the Jameel Arts Centre, we\u2019ve deliberately tried to create a civic institution that foregrounds education, research, public outreach and programming, alongside high-quality, thematic, investigative exhibitions and commissions that get everyone talking about the pressing issues of our time. \u00a0We\u2019ve underwritten free entry \u2013 so visitors are encouraged to make it their \u2018second home\u2019, and come back for multiple visits, to the exhibitions, library, projects spaces and the beautiful Sculpture Park (a collaboration with Dubai Holding). \u00a0Only the arts can open up such spaces for debate and learning. \u00a0We\u2019re honoured to be a part of the UAE\u2019s growth as a cultural destination, and to be able to work with and alongside such a dynamic government- and private-sector-led arts scene. \u00a0The Jameel Arts Centre is one of the first non-governmental institutions of its kind in the Gulf; we hope that its presence and success will encourage other philanthropists to come forward and support such creative endeavours.<\/p>\n

And now we\u2019re gearing up for Art Jameel\u2019s largest-scale project yet \u2013 Hayy Jameel<\/a>, a multi-disciplinary cultural complex in our original hometown, Jeddah, set to open next winter. \u00a0This could not have come at a more timely moment, given the centrality of arts and culture in the new Saudi Arabia, and that this moment of \u2018cultural renaissance\u2019 is garnering so much international interest as well as grassroots support. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Art Jameel is known for the diverse range of exhibitions, talks, workshops that it hosts, do you have ambitions to expand on this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Thank you! \u00a0Our programmes are exceptionally broad, ranging from traditional artisanship and the preservation of crafts and architecture through to the most cutting edge of contemporary arts. \u00a0Hayy Jameel includes not only art but also cinema, comedy, performance, entrepreneurship, architecture and design. \u00a0But at Art Jameel\u2019s heart is the mandate that culture is an essential pillar of society, and that the arts enable the broadest, most dynamic and future-oriented of learning opportunities \u2013 in short, that the arts matter<\/em>. \u00a0This sentiment unifies our programmes. \u00a0The Art Jameel team always has its ear to the ground, and we aim to keep as flexible as possible, so we can respond to the needs of the communities we serve.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you receive feedback on your initiatives and events from the community?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, listening to the community is an essential part of staying relevant, and we absolutely value all feedback. \u00a0Of course, these days, everyone can have their say on social media, and the Gulf is no exception \u2013 in fact, notably in Saudi Arabia, people are particularly articulate, digitally, and not shy to give opinions. \u00a0We also survey our audiences after major events and learn from their feedback. \u00a0Our ethos has always been that our centres are \u201cfor \u2013 and by \u2013 the community\u201d, and this sense of communal ownership is very important to us, and to the success of our programmes. \u00a0Thankfully, we\u2019ve been overwhelmed so far by the positivity of the feedback, but I always encourage the Art Jameel team to stay on its toes!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Opening
Phantom Limb: Opening preview at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai. Courtesy of Jameel Arts Centre<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How much influence has Art Jameel had on the teaching of traditional arts in Jeddah and Cairo? And, is that reflected in the numbers of students and graduates, and their influence on the arts scene?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe that – in cities like Jeddah and Cairo — the traditional arts are contemporary \u2013 they are part of everyday life, part of our past and our future. \u00a0We\u2019ve witnessed in recent years a huge upswing of interest in preserving our history and architecture \u2013 perhaps as we move ever-faster towards the future, we have an increased awareness of how important it is to have a solid and visible past. \u00a0The number of applications to both schools has increased each year, and quite dramatically in Jeddah, in particular. \u00a0In Egypt we offer a two-year diploma and gaining a place on the course is now very highly competitive. \u00a0We\u2019re conscious that arts graduates, globally, need the skills to participate fully in society \u2013 in Cairo, for example, we offer business and e-commerce workshops with the likes of Amazon, as well as traditional training in crafts. \u00a0We\u2019re also opening an Atelier for our graduates, where they can receive further training, and set up their own businesses, contributing not only to the arts in society but also the economy itself.<\/p>\n

In Jeddah, the one-year programme at the Jameel House focuses on the traditional arts of the Balad, with fieldwork to study and document the rich architectural heritage of the old town, including its gypsum fa\u00e7ades and roshan<\/em> windows made of intricate mangour<\/em> woodwork. \u00a0Alongside theory modules on Islamic geometry and colour harmony, practical modules include dye-making, painting, ceramics, gypsum-carving, parquetry and mangour<\/em>. \u00a0<\/em>We have expanded the scope this year to include a product design module that will give a hands-on exploration of the connections between heritage, product design and traditional craft.<\/p>\n

The students and alumni have an increasingly prominent role locally \u2013 for example, taking part in the Saudi Art Council\u2019s annual arts festival 21,39 in Jeddah; in MNWR at Madina Arts Centre, Madina; and in Saudi Design Week in Riyadh; and contributing to the restoration of the Jamjoum House, the grandest of the historic coral-stone tower-houses in Al-Balad and part of a Saudi Ministry of Culture structural reinforcement programme.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sarah
Sarah Abu Abdallah_ For the First Time in a Long Time at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai. Photo by Dani Bapista<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Art Jameel has many partnerships with international institutions, what would you say are the impacts of these relationships and are there any upcoming partnerships that you can discuss?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>We believe we can achieve maximum impact from our budgets by taking a two-pronged approach \u2013 to be very active at the grassroots level, working directly with artists and communities, but also to promote and support Middle Eastern arts at the highest level, internationally. \u00a0We\u2019ve had a partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, since 2003 \u2013 working in both Islamic and contemporary art with the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative arts and design. \u00a0Five years ago, we began a partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where the Jameel Fund supports artists from the Middle East, making sure their work is showcased in one of the world\u2019s most visited museums. \u00a0A stunning work, new to the Met\u2019s collection, by the great Lebanese master Saloua Choucair, is currently on view at the museum and is a must-see.<\/p>\n

A more recent partnership is with Delfina Foundation, the artists\u2019 residency centre, which is a real home-from-home for so many artists from the Middle East and around the world. \u00a0In terms of what\u2019s next, we\u2019re not aiming to expand our core partners but we are working ever-more closely with them to ensure the central place of Middle Eastern artists and ideas on the world stage \u2013 plus we\u2019re starting to co-commission and collaborate with institutions in our region and across the \u2018global south\u2019, pooling resources to increase our combined impact.<\/p>\n

Hayy Jameel will be the realisation of a long-held dream for many in Jeddah, could you give us an update on its progress?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, Hayy Jameel will be the realisation of a dream for Jeddah and a dream cherished by our family for so many years — we are so thrilled to be working with everyone in our home town and across Saudi Arabia to see it come to fruition in a year\u2019s time. \u00a0Construction is on-track, and we\u2019ll be announcing more details about our own activities as well as our partners in the complex over the coming months. \u00a0For now, we can say that Art Jameel will be running the central art and design galleries, an independent cinema and audio-visual centre, artists\u2019 studios, and project spaces, with partners operating other spaces, including cafes, galleries, performance and co-working spaces, and more.<\/p>\n

The idea is that Hayy will be the first bespoke home for the arts in Jeddah and bring together different disciplines \u2013 and their audiences \u2013 in one shared neighbourhood. \u00a0Hayy will no doubt be a destination for tourists and visitors to Jeddah, but its main mandate is to nurture and showcase Saudi Arabian talent, and to enable international exchange between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, we\u2019ve meanwhile got going on some pilot programmes \u2013 Hayy: Learning, for example, is a community education platform \u2013 and our first four-month course in 2019, devoted to artists, delivered practical skills as well as critiques and theory to upcoming and established visual artists. \u00a0Other iterations in 2020 will focus on other disciplines, ahead of the opening of a permanent space at Hayy for life-long-learning and skills development.<\/p>\n

And we recently announced that, following an international competition, Hayy: Cinema — the first non-commercial picture house in Jeddah — will be designed by Jeddah-based architectural practice Bricklab, who were selected via a rigorous, \u2018blind\u2019 process by a renowned international jury.<\/p>\n

This example, amid many others, shows that Saudi Arabia has such promising creative talent, such a burgeoning cultural scene; Art Jameel\u2019s role is to help nurture and connect, working alongside government and the private sector, constantly monitoring the situation and plugging any gaps that may arise. \u00a0We, in the Arab World have our fair share of challenges, but our talented artists, determined youth and ambitious entrepreneurs deserve all our belief and support \u2013 and in this way, we will transform our societies, from within.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":56827,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInfluence of Arts & Culture for Future Societies | Abdul Latif Jameel\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a recent interview, Fady Jameel, President International, Community Jameel, discusses how Art Jameel is creating an impact in the region \u2013 and beyond.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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