Venus Fouad is taken on a multi-faceted tour of Siwa Every year, a certain number of artists receive a grant to live and work for two weeks in Siwa, the largest oasis in Egypt's Western Desert. The grant is offered by the General Organisation for the Cultural Palaces and other departments of the Ministry of Culture, and the final result is a collective exhibition of the work produced by the artists over the year following their visit. The latest exhibition was held a few days ago and featured the work of artists Ahlam Fekri, Ahmad Abbas Wahb, Asmaa Ahmad Said, Asmaa El-Desouki, Amani Zahran, Amal Mansi El-Sayyed, Ayman Helal, Hanan El-Sheikh, Zeinab Mohammad Salem, Samir Mahmoud Abdel-Fadil, Shaker El-Idris, Shaymaa Mahmoud, Tareq El-Sheikh, Emad Abdel-Wahab, Awaterf Salah, Mehanni Yaoud, Nagah Sedqi, Hani Rezq and Yasser Gad. Amani Zahran focused on the people of Siwa in realistic compositions with an exquisite command of lighting. In her paintings, one is introduced to the daily activities of the oasis and its traditional art, especially basket weaving. Hani Rezq took a different approach to the venue, as if seeing it through the eyes of an ancient artist. He divided his paintings into various panels and used traditional decorative motifs to fill up the background. In one of his paintings he reproduced the patterns of a local carpet in a composition that also drew upon the natural scenery, especially the date palms. The articulate architecture of Siwa was a recurring theme in the exhibition. Siwa buildings are almost an organic growth of the mountain. Built in clay with small windows to keep out the heat, the dwellings are often huddled together in an impressive cluster almost as big as a palace, merging together in lines that are so smooth, so undulating that one can hardly see the boundaries of the individual buildings. Younes Hassan was clearly enchanted with the extraordinary shape of the buildings. In his paintings, he showed buildings bathed in sunlight, luxuriating in the open space and unfettered terrain of the desert beyond. Yasser Gad used earth colours to reproduce the immense spirituality of Siwa, with its monasteries and mosques, and its calmness of spirit. Nagah Sedqi tried to decipher the place, showing it bathed in light under a blue sun, independent of spirit, proud of its ways and fortified like a military outpost. Ahmad Abbas zoomed into the back streets, showing the tiny doors and the roofs covered with palm fronds. Invoking the rhythmic pattern of the architecture, both in terms of irregularity and protectiveness, his scenery looks esoteric and yet intimate. Ahlam Fekri took the Arabian Nights theme to another level, adding vivid colours to the scenery with an element of urgency and fast-paced change. In her paintings we see satellite dishes mounted on roofs, old style homes juxtaposed with modern ones, intrusions tolerated and further encroachments promised. The softness of Asmaa El-Desouki's water colours invokes Siwa's original cadence and her intricate depiction of various decorations add a vitality to the compositions, a feeling that the buildings are close, as their very texture is clearly identifiable to the viewers. Mehanni Yaoud blends lifestyle and architecture in compositions that are dynamic as well as unconventional. His Siwa is real but also imaginary, active and yet contemplative, aloof and yet inviting. The exhibition was opened by Salah El-Meligi, chief of the Fine Arts Department at the Ministry of Culture, and Saad Abdel-Rahman, chief of the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces, and ran from 27 March to 5 April. It is my personal wish to see a repetition of this event, with other exotic parts of the country receiving the benefit of artists visiting on a government grant. Such events not only enrich the artists' experience, but energise the target areas and promote business and tourism.
