C-ing is believing at mall

ARTISTS and designers have showcased giant, bright and bold designs at Bahrain City Centre in the build-up to the mall’s ffth anniversary celebrations, writes Mai Al Khatib.

Teams made up of professionals, inspired students and talented youngsters gathered at the centre’s Central Galleria over the weekend to participate in ‘The Art of C’ workshop, transforming the mall’s new brand identity – the letter ‘C’, into colourful installations … right before shopper’s eyes.

Duaij Khalifa Al Rumaihi, senior mall manager, said, “We were excited to welcome Bahraini artists and children from the community into the mall to design the imaginative pieces of art to celebrate our new ‘C’ identity.

“The initiative invited shoppers to watch the artists at work and we are pleased to support the local art scene and showcase their wonderful talent to the community.”

The project, which started last Wednesday and took three days to complete, included members of the Bahrain Art Society guiding members of Tamkeen’s Wehda Wahda (Let’s Unite) campaign and other teenagers.

Celebrated Bahraini artist Abbas Al Mousawi said: “I staged a briefng at my studio with a group of artists from the society to help celebrate the mall by decorating their letter ‘C’.
“This exhibit brought six artists from Europe, Bahrain, India, UK, Iraq and Egypt together to display their different styles and techniques.

“We even had a calligrapher take part and award-winning artist Omar Al Rashid. The idea was to create artwork with paint and recycled goods from the mall’s outlets. Some provided boxes, paper, fabric, old clothing and it just goes to show that art can come from anything.

“We had different teams over the three days and even included some interested people people of all ages and nationalities passing by who wanted to take part in the community project.

“We have had so many approach us and ask about our work. Also, other artists now have different ideas of how to create new art. They don’t only have to work on a canvas!”

The Bahrain Photography Club also put its members’ images of Bahrain on show during the workshop.

The captivating Cs will be put on display until Saturday and all participants will receive certifcates from the mall for their efforts and a panoramic picture of the entire group.

Sabine Algosaibi, 52, an artist from Janabiya took part in the workshop with her daughter Suhaila, 17, who attends Bahrain School. She said: “I think this is a great idea to get artists to work together and have fun. It’s free and easy. We just went wild with our C.”

Artists weren’t the only ones enjoying their time as a number of shoppers were also drawn to the exhibit. Tess Albelda, a 34-year-old housewife, from Gudaibiya, was running errands with her husband Renante, 34, who works in IT, when they spotted the display.

Mrs Albelda said: “This art exhibition is very inspiring and colourful and you could see that the artists were working hard. I love to paint and it motivated me to continue with my art.”

Blogger ‘Blonde in Bahrain’, Georgina Jennsen, 39, from Juffair, was capturing images of the artists at work to post on her web page. She said: “It’s a fabulous event that is very colourful with a lot of activity. There is an amazing array of cultures and I like the way they have used this to bring everybody together. It’s a positive event.

“This is the kind of stuff I focus on in my blog – things that are beautiful and positive. We need to have something like this every weekend.”