Women deserve to have an opportunity to work in the field of graphic design in media, public relations and marketing companies, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said here Saturday. The minister spoke to Saudi Gazette after inaugurating the first official female graphic design exhibition at Serafi Mall here under the theme “Advertise from Makkah.” The five-day exhibition, organized by Tasami Center for Visual Arts and Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, successfully showcased and highlighted the unique talent of emerging Saudi artists. Most of the artists were from the holy city of Makkah. “This expo is aimed at providing an opportunity for female Saudi artists to showcase their talent and make contacts with Saudi media companies and the Saudi market,” Dr. Khoja told Saudi Gazette. The expo, he said, is just a green light to start launching official art exhibitions in Saudi universities and colleges. “There is no difference between male and female Saudi artists. Talent exists in both, and both deserve to have the same opportunities,” added Khoja. Rahsed Al-Sha'shei, General Manager of Tasami Center for Visual Arts, expressed his delight at the large number of participants in the event “aimed at developing society's view of female artists”. He said Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region, gave the go-ahead for the exhibition some three months ago and “we are looking to adopt the culture of change and looking for development”. The five-day expo will be attended by a number of marketing and media companies who will then sign contracts with selected female artists to work for them. “The young Saudi artists will each display their projects containing about five pictures on one given theme,” said Adnan Theqa, the center's vice president. There are 14 important themes, chosen and developed by each student, he added. The themes include: The need to make lifestyle changes to control the spread of diabetes among Saudis; religious tourism in the Kingdom in general and Makkah in particular; fighting crime and thefts around the holy sites; the importance of dealing compassionately with domestic workers; expanding the scope of pop art; the displacement phenomenon; intellectual terrorism; the Qur'an as a life guide; autism and the world of autistic children; and the dropping out of school phenomenon. Saudi Gazette spoke with some participating artists asking them about their aims and the effect on their careers after taking part in the first official exhibition to showcase their talent. “We are very happy to have an opportunity to show our talent at an official exhibition. The Tasmai center discussed the idea with the university management and then we received support from the Ministry of Culture and Information,” said Lujain Khoja. “This will give us the freedom to meet with marketing companies and express our point of view in the field of developing media through graphic design,” she added. Another participant, Rana Ahmad Ramdan, stressed the necessity of launching such expos to maximize the female role in the field of art exhibitions. Apart from Khoja and Ramdan, the other participating graphic designers include Ula Hamza Felemban, Wesam Ali Berqawi, Rehab Faisal Hassanain, Ru'a Hussien Al-Jafferi, Di Muhammed Hafez, Afnan Hamid Subhi, Rauzan Saud Jalal, Sara Essam Khondanah, Hadeel Hashim Shemi, Hatoun Adnan Fairowzi, Huda Ali Al-Masmoum, and Ebthaj Abdul Wahid Khyyat.
