Metamorphosis exhibition opens to public at Al Safa Art and Design Library

  • Everyone is invited to explore the existential relationship between man and water as an element.
  • A precious opportunity for the public to live the experience of drawing live with the artist.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has opened the exhibition “Metamorphosis” by Lebanese artist Simar Halwany, which will be held from June 13 to July 8, 2022 at the library of art and design of Al Safa. During the exhibition, Simar, who is hosted under the “Artist in Residence” program, will take the public through her paintings on a journey to the depths of the sea to explore the existential relationship between man and nature. water as an element.

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of Arts and Literature at Dubai Culture, who confirmed that the organization of the “Metamorphosis” exhibition at the Art Library and Al Safa’s design project responds to Dubai Culture’s aspirations to enhance creativity, support talent in Dubai and provide the public with exemplary platforms to connect with the arts and artists from around the world. The exhibition is part of the Authority’s vision to cement Dubai’s position as a global center of culture, an incubator of creativity and a thriving hub of talent.

It is the culmination of artist Simar Halwany’s efforts as part of the “Artist in Residence” program organized by Dubai Culture last year at the Al Safa Art and Design Library. Simar was the first artist in residence hosted by the library. This is part of the Authority’s efforts to establish an incubation environment that ensures the care and empowerment of creative artistic talents in Dubai and the development of its promising creative sector, in order to achieve the objectives of Dubai’s creative economy strategy by making Dubai the creative economy capital of the world.

Dubai Culture invites visual art enthusiasts to visit the ‘Metamorphosis’ exhibition to explore distinctive paintings and enjoy the artist’s live painting performances. The exhibition includes 15 paintings drawn from Emirati culture, dealing with the human relationship with the sea, focusing on fish in Dubai.

The paintings on display reflect the existential relationship between man and water, which Halwany describes as “a conflict due to the duality of exchange between sea and man; for humans see water and fish as a source of life, expansion and sustenance as well as a source of conflict, death, ambiguity and migration.

Halwany is an artist specialized in the field of drawing and engraving. She holds a master’s degree in illustration from Italy and works as a freelance children’s book illustrator with many well-known authors in Lebanon and the Middle East. She won the Arab Thought Foundation 21 Best Book Award for her book “The Elephant Painter” (the book is only available in Arabic) in 2017.

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James C. Tibbs