Kawkaba meaning “constellation” is part of the largest exhibition series of Arab art in London. It focuses on a gender-balanced approach and more than half of the artwork displayed is by Arab women.
The Kawkaba exhibit at Christie's auction house in London featured more than 100 pieces — half of them by women from various religions and ethnicities across the Middle East and North Africa.
"This is how my mom always wanted for her work to be displayed, in collections where the public would be able to access them, and not kind of hidden and tucked away," Al Batal said in an interview in London. "There are many internationally renowned Arab women artists, but also many others whose great work is not as known as it deserves to be."Dia Al Batal said her mother faced many challenges as a woman starting her career in art. Mona Saudi's father did not encourage her passion, and at the age of 17, she ran away from Amman, Jordan, and moved to Beirut to pursue art.
Bahia Shehab, an artist, historian and professor at the American University in Cairo, said Arab women artists often struggle with a lack of funding and infrastructure. Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, a collector and the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, gestures at Ibrahim El-Salahi’s painting 'The Last Sound.'
But he said her work got very little notice before Kawkaba. Since the start of the exhibition in mid-July, he said he's been getting daily calls from people asking about Samia's art.Not all of the women featured in the exhibition have experienced similar challenges.
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