In workshops held on "Al-Qatt Al-Asiri", organized by the Saudi pavilion
Farah and learning the rhythms of art and heritage at “Expo”
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Special moments of discovery, experienced by visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai, and their families and children, with the experiences of the manual workshops, organized by the pavilion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the Saudi plastic artist, Afaf Dajam, which enables the public to witness the details of her hand-made creations and closely see some of the techniques of art Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, to whom these workshops are dedicated, is one of the most important and famous abstract arts that originated in the Asir region in the south of the Kingdom, and was associated with the craftsmanship of decorating the walls of houses using various geometric patterns and designs, in the form of a group of layers in which lines, drawings and bright natural colors overlap to form Magical artwork.
attraction station
With the activities of this workshop, which is organized by the pavilion daily, over two separate periods, morning and evening, the place where the Saudi plastic artist topped the scene, surrounded by children and their proud parents who explored their children’s talents in drawing, turned into an important attraction in the exhibition, after the crowds flocked to discover The details of the event, while others were enthusiastic to go through the experience and take a moment to reflect on the artist’s ingenuity, who in turn revealed some of the origins and history of this art, its development and implementation techniques on various pieces and its attractive natural colors and sources, while the outer courtyard of the Kingdom’s pavilion turned into a permanent station for young visitors who Lined up in front of the event waiting to participate in the coloring activities and win their gift.
world heritage
In this context, the Saudi plastic artist, Afaf Dajem, revealed to "Emirates Today", her happiness to participate in this workshop, which is open to world visitors at the "Expo", stopping at the beginnings of her knowledge of the secrets of the art of "Al-Qatt Al-Asiri", and its depth in its artistic vocabulary and rich colors. life, which opened wide horizons for her to dive into the origins and details of this art. She said: "The peculiarity of this ancient heritage art stems from the gathering of women in the past, to help draw the initial lines of the decorations and inscriptions that the owner of the house intended to identify, placing colored dots for each part, to help her later relatives and friends in the process of completing the drawings and coloring the various decorations and shapes."
Dajem added: "I consider myself very lucky to get acquainted with this ancient heritage art by virtue of my residency in (Abha), and my keenness to visit the homes and heritage monuments that embrace this ancient art, which also gave me the opportunity to introduce it at the global level, by joining the Heritage Workshop. Intangible cultural heritage about three years ago, and contributing to pushing the file of this heritage art to the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to document it as a global art,” noting that “in December 2017, it was announced that this art had been included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The United Nations International Organization, with whom he became (Al-Qatt Al-Asiri), the sixth intangible Saudi cultural heritage inscribed on the World Heritage List.
With kids
On the experience of participating in the activities of this educational and entertaining workshop that the youngsters enjoyed, the citizen Abdul Rahman Ibrahim (nine years old), who seemed preoccupied with his water colors and keen to arrange them in harmony with the instructions of the workshop coordinator, confirmed: “I loved this painting that I am working on coloring, and I feel happy because I will dedicate it to my mother, who was keen to take me to this event,” stressing his keenness in the future to repeat the experience a second time, considering the discoveries and experiences that it provided him with unprecedented enjoyment in the exhibition.In turn, Amira Ahmed, (Abdul Rahman's mother), when asked about her evaluation of this open-air experience for children, expressed her interest in involving her child in the field of new discoveries in general and group activities in particular, which she considers "useful and motivating for him to develop his skills and communicate with his peers." She emphasized the value of these activities in revealing an important aspect of her child's passion for drawing and watercolors, which he discovers for the first time, after his previous experience in the field of wood coloring, which will contribute to the development of his creative abilities at a later time.
As for the Yemeni child, Hajar Ahmed, who came with her father to visit the exhibition, she expressed her admiration for participating in this educational workshop, which she described as the first step towards achieving her dream of becoming a painter in the future, saying: “The details of my participation in the coloring workshop will always remain in my memory.”
• Al-Qatt Al-Asiri art, one of the most important and famous abstract arts that originated in the Asir region in southern Saudi Arabia.
• Al-Qatt Al-Asiri is the sixth intangible Saudi cultural heritage inscribed on the World Heritage List.