Mara’ina Exhibition at Ithra

Photographer: Sultan Bin Fahad, An archival image from the Aramco records of the King in a car inspecting oil fields in 1947. The original image was flipped to show the King sitting in the driver’s seat while a man (mirrored in the reflection of the car) inspects the oil fields.

So I wasn’t really planning on writing another post before the end of the year, but I was so moved by the Mara’ina exhibit at Ithra that I felt like I needed to spread the love!

It’s a little politically charged and the stories told by these photographers are incredibly powerful. They tackle various issues, that plague the region, in the most creative ways. Just make sure you read every single little blurb about the photos as it really helped understand the messaging. It’s an emotional journey… Anyways, just go!

This exhibition will run from December 17th until April 4th, so you have lots of time to go check it out! It’s currently housed in the Funoon Gallery, and showcases the work of 22 artists from the region and internationally. You’ll need a general museum ticket (SR 35), to enter, which will give you access to other permanent exhibitions in Ithra as well. You can buy your ticket at the museum or online.

Here are some of the highlights…

Robert Polidori

Taysir Batniji, GH0809

This photo series was not only incredibly impactful in its messaging, but in how it was constructed creatively. From afar the photos look like listings for homes by a real estate agency – something we see quite often in our neighborhoods. But when you take a closer look, they are actually the listings of homes in Gaza destroyed by Israeli bombings attacks from 2008-2009.

Hicham Benohoud, 30 families

Mustafa Saeed

Rania Matar, Invisible Children,

This photo series takes up an entire wall of the room, and fills it with portraits of Syrian refugee children begging and selling items on the streets in Lebanon. Matar started this series in 2014 before the refugee crisis had gotten much worse.

Tasneem Al Sultan, Mai

I loved this room full of wedding stories. The photographer describes herself as “Scheherazade in the 1001 Arabian Nights, (a) story teller of other misfortunes and romantic endings,” so the stories were not always the happiest, but they were beautiful nonetheless. I probably spent the most time in this room reading the stories of various women…

Make sure you read all of the stories attached to the artwork when you visit!

Hope you enjoyed my last blog post of 2019! Happy Holidays and thank you for your support in 2019 – I truly believe I have the best readers 🙂