"Dubai Culture" brings together artists who left their mark on "Hatta Cultural Nights"
«The Bab and the Feather» .. The story of the old doors «History and Beauty»
The event brought together a number of creative artists who participated in the Old Doors Exhibition in its first edition. From the source
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The Culture and Arts Authority in Dubai (Dubai Culture) brought together, through a virtual seminar entitled: “The Door and the Feather”, a number of creative artists who participated in the Old Doors Exhibition, which it held in its first edition of “Hatta Cultural Nights”, with the aim of celebrating the artists' experience. The aforementioned and their achievements, introducing the audience to the stories of their creativity and providing them with an opportunity to interact and exchange knowledge, as well as enriching the public's knowledge about the ancient doors and the identity, history and beauty that they represent, plunging into the depth of the place and the authenticity of the Emirati heritage.
The seminar, which was held through the "Zoom" program, was attended by a group of people interested in plastic art from inside and outside Dubai Culture, as well as a group of artists at the Doorstep initiative, including: Amalaa Haji Salmeen, Hasan Zainuddin, Rashid Al Mulla, Mona Al Khaja Murhaf Abu Ghuddah, Diaa Allam, Azza Al Qubaisi, and Dr. Karima Al Shomali. In addition to shedding light on the aforementioned initiative, the themes of the symposium dealt with introducing the project of restoring ancient heritage doors.
Cultural face
The Director of the Fine Arts Department at "Dubai Culture", Khalil Abdul Wahid, confirmed that the exhibition of the old doors came to draw artistic paintings on doors that were made to embody the old doors, as part of the activities of "Hatta Cultural Nights", which was launched by the authority late last year, based on the belief The commission stressed the importance of reviving the original heritage and highlighting it, highlighting through it the ancient cultural, civilization and heritage face of the Hatta region, and the aesthetics of the architectural identity of the heritage buildings in it.
Abdul Wahed added: “Dubai, since its inception, has paid special attention to the arts, providing an incubating environment for art and artists. In keeping with this interest, (Dubai Culture) is committed to supporting artists and talents, providing a platform to highlight and develop their talents, and take them towards promising future horizons. The Old Doors Gallery, five doors designed to imitate traditional doors, provided an opportunity for seasoned and young plastic artists to decorate them with their artistic creations. The idea attracted 10 fine artists, including eight Emiratis, to paint distinctive paintings on which the past was mixed with their contemporary colors.
Entrepreneurial initiative
During the seminar, the director of Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Nasser Juma bin Sulaiman, explained that the Historical Doors exhibition, which was implemented in the “Hatta Cultural Nights”, was a pioneering initiative, as the first event displayed traditional doors in Dubai and Hatta. The idea provided a space for artists to show their artistic creations, which embodied different tastes and schools of art, and which won the admiration of visitors to the "Hatta Cultural Nights".
Bin Sulaiman shed light on the traditional doors and the history of their development, explaining that “the door was initially taken to be a cover for the security and privacy of homes, and with the development of social life, carpenters began to innovate in these doors, whether in their sizes or shapes, and mastered their decoration, which is clear in the traditional doors. in Dubai".
Types of doors
The symposium reviewed the shapes and sizes of traditional doors, which varied according to the functional aspect of the door and the type of building it was in. The doors of forts and castles were distinguished by their large size and thickness to express protection and defense. Pointed iron heads for protection purposes, in addition to the decorations that increase the aesthetic value of the door, as in the door of the Hatta fort.
Residential buildings
As for the doors of residential buildings, they were smaller in size, and some were distinguished by the presence of the small door (the chicken), which enhances the privacy of the household, and the wooden latch, which closes the door tightly, which provides protection for its residents. While the internal doors were similar to the external doors, they were smaller in size, and some interior doors were distinguished by decorations that were dominated by geometric or plant motifs.
Towers and defensive squares
The symposium also introduced the participants to the doors of the towers and defensive squares, which were distinguished by their small size and their height above the surface of the ground in most cases, in order to make it difficult for the enemy to enter the tower or square, and they were closed tightly from the inside, and climb to the top by a rope hanging from the door. She also touched on the gates of the old markets, which numbered 12 in the Grand Market in Bur Dubai, and these gates opened in the morning and closed at sunset.
Door parts and decorations
The symposium introduced the audience to the parts and decorations of the old doors, as most of the doors in the traditional house were composed of two shutters (two shutters), and the door shutter, frame and nose often contained geometric and plant ornaments, and in rare cases animal, and metal nails appeared that played a functional and aesthetic role -Add to the latch.