Saudi Vision 2030: Managing Art Residencies Online Training
Supported by the British Council and the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we will coach Saudi individuals and representatives from art organisations on managing art residencies.
Building sustainable art organisations is a fundamental part of the Saudi Vision 2030. To contribute towards this goal, we have prepared an exciting programme of activities and mentoring sessions.
During February and March 2022, participants will access our ACT Growth Programme – our accelerator training for creative people looking for mentoring and accompaniment to develop for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. This asynchronous learning programme will be reinforced by a series of live online masterclasses delivered by tutors with ample experience in this topic and understanding of Saudi Arabia and, more broadly, the Middle Eastern region.
We are excited to announce the participation of two special guest speakers: ACT artist alumni Balqis Al Rashed and Ziad Kaki. Both Saudi nationals will speak to attendees about their experience taking part in international artist residencies. They will share their perspective on the essential components of a successful residency programme and how these organisations can further support the Saudi art scene. It’s part of ACT’s goal to involve artists from our community in activities that bring them high-level career opportunities and further visibility for their practices. We are delighted to have Balqis and Ziad joining us.
Photo (left): Courtesy of Jubran Picture. Photo (right): Courtesy of www.BerlinArtInstitute.com
Participating in this training is by invitation. If you are a Saudi-based organisation or individual, please express your interest here.
Tutors
She is an entrepreneur, online learning specialist, art patron and founding director of Art Career Transformation ACT!. She is founding chair the International Council of the Fondation Maeght in the South of Franceā¤, a group of international art patrons who support the institution and its impressive collection of 20th Century art. She is also sits at Tate's Executive Committee and the Latin American Acquisition Committee (LAAC), and support international art organisations namely Delfina Foundation and Gasworks in London, FLORA Ars + Natura and MAMBO in Bogotá. Francesca has been a Senior Course Leader of the Online Department from Sotheby's Institute Global Online since 2014. She holds an MA in Art Business (Distinction) at Sotheby’s Institute (London) and a BA in Fine Arts from La Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá).
Salma is a contemporary art and design curator and cultural strategist. She is currently Deputy Director of the leading international residency programme at Delfina Foundation. She was formerly Curator of Contemporary Middle Eastern Art and Design at V&A, where she was responsible for Middle Eastern programming at the museum, and laid the foundation for its permanent Contemporary Arab art and design. From 2007 to 2011 she worked at Art Dubai as Head of Artists’ Projects, as well as Artistic Director of Contemparabia, a series of cultural itineraries for international museum groups across the Arab world. Her knowledge of artistic exchange through global residencies, exhibitions and public programming in the Gulf and beyond will be invaluable to participants as well as her expertise in delivering mentoring programmes.
Aya Mousawi
Aya is a UK based independent consultant. Having lived and worked in Dubai, Istanbul, Jeddah and Doha she has launched international communications campaigns, artist residencies, public programs, events and exhibitions; coordinated city-wide arts festivals with the City of Buenos Aires and Art Basel; and created cultural strategies for major public venues such as the New Baghdad Library and Basra Sports stadium in Iraq. From 2012, Aya was Assistant Curator as a part of the Edge of Arabia team working closely on the development of the contemporary art scene in KSA and its promotion across Europe. Her first had knowledge of KSA’s art scene as well as experience in developing meaningful partnerships between cultural figureheads, commercial galleries and grassroots communities will provide significant added value to participants.
Imogen is a cultural strategist and producer with 12 years experience of working on projects in the Arab world. Her recent consultancy engagements in Saudi Arabia have included working with the Ministry of Culture, Diriyah Gate Development Authority, MiSK Art Institute, and Royal Commission for AlUla. Between 2013 - 2017 she served as Managing Director of the Crossway Foundation, an arts education organisation that established a network of 100+ emerging artists in the GCC through its international residency programmes. Masterclass participants will benefit from Imogen's understanding of the burgeoning creative scene in KSA and her experience in developing effective organisational infrastructure
Special Guest Speakers.
Balqis Al Rashed is a Saudi multidisciplinary and performance artist based in Riyadh- Saudi Arabia. She was raised in Beirut for 17 years, graduating from the American University of Beirut with a BFA in Graphic Design. Working with installations, videos, performative spaces, and immersive experiences, the work she does is positioned at the threshold of dichotomies. Balqis’ work explores her relationship with control and obedience and is driven by a curious detachment, subversive docility, impulsive gestures, and a fundamental existential dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Balqis participated in three residencies, the March Project Residency 2015 at Sharjah Art Foundation and participated in their exhibition with a performative site-specific public installation, ‘In Babel’ [2015], AiR at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and participated in their Cities of Convictions exhibition with another performative installation ‘Cities of Salt’ [2017], and Alserkal Residency at Alserkal Foundation, Dubai, and created a series of non-consecutive public performances, ‘Norms of Life’ [2019]. She was also selected as a Nike Ambassador and was featured in their Believe in More global campaign [2017]. In 2016, A video from the series ‘A State of Play’ was featured on Instagram official account, contributing to its global appeal, generating over 5 million views on Instagram alone and was the first Saudi artist to be featured on Instagram’s official account. Instagram account: @notreallybalqis
My name is Ziad Kaki. I am a Saudi Arabian artist based in London. Becoming a foreigner to my own country disrupted my thought process. This has sparked my interest in psychological tensions and how they can be depicted through art. My paintings were originally inspired by thermal imaging and the camera lens. My research focuses on the relationship between humans, animals, and technology.
Graduating from Central Saint Martins with a Masters in Fine Art, I worked under the tutelage and critique of experienced art scholars and mentors. I am working with the Huxley-Parlour Gallery based in Central London on a project which features new emerging artists around the world. I collaborated with WhyNow, a platform that interviews UK’s top artists and emerging talent, including Tracey Emin and Alex Israel.
Ziad Kaki participated in the BAI Residency Program, an artist residency programme in partnership with MISK ART INSTITUTE (MISK) & BERLIN ART INSTITUTE (BAI) in 2021.
We invite you to read more about the Growth Programme here or get in touch with us if you have questions and want to know if this programme is for you.