Artistic talent of students of a girl's college here have transformed their institution's wall into an open and creative display of 100 murals. Earlier the wall was nicknamed ‘Pregnant Women's Wall.' The sight now imparts joy to onlookers and dispels the gloom felt in the past by the graffiti inscribed by a number of young males. Some 300 female students participated in drawing these 1x3 meter sized paintings as part of their graduation projects. The idea was proposed to the Mayoralty last year to introduce the concept as part of the credits required for graduation from the Art Department, said Suzan Al-Sayegh, supervisor of the mural project. Students showed exemplary zeal in crafting the murals with the use of ceramics and other materials. Each mural has been done by three students. According to Dr. Ashraf Al-Turki, Director of the Open Areas Department at Jeddah Mayoralty, the open exhibition was carried out at the behest of Jeddah's Mayor Adel Mohammad Faqih, in an effort to impart aesthetic beauty to the location and smear the hideous graffiti scrawled by rogue teenagers. The department plans to redesign the area so as to create more space for walking along the wall. Additionally, a large number of flower-bearing trees will be planted and decorative lighting will be installed. Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, Director of the Media Center at the Mayoralty, said the Mayoralty seeks to encourage students to hold open art exhibitions and to involve local artists in landscaping the city through sculpture contests. – Okaz __
