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Entrance to Gharem Studio, the personal studio of artist Abdulnasser Gharem that also doubles as an alternative art space, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Ajlan Gharem.
Interior view of Gharem Studio. Photo by Ajlan Gharem.
Late last year, ArtAsiaPacific met Abdulnasser Gharem, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading contemporary artists, at his studio in Riyadh. Gharem Studio is not only a space for the artist’s personal production, but also home to a new art initiative. “These kind of spaces are very important. We are trying to create a dialogue and platform, and also be an incubator,” says Gharem about his studio.
Abdulnasser Gharem was born in 1973 in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia. He graduated from the King Abdulaziz Academy in 1992 and went on to attended The Leader Institute in Riyadh. He then changed his career path and, in 2003, started attending the influential al-Meftaha Arts Village in Abha, a city in southwest Saudi Arabia.
In 2004 Gharem staged a group exhibition with other al-Meftaha artists, entitled “Shattah,” which radicalized the expression of art in Saudi Arabia at the time. Then, along with artists Stephen Stapleton from the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Mater, Gharem cofounded Edge of Arabia as a platform to support contemporary Saudi artists in reaching an international audience.
Gharem recently made history, and reaffirmed his commitment to the local art community, when his installation piece Message/Messenger (2010) was auctioned for a record USD 842,500 in Dubai in 2011, and he donated the proceeds of the sale to Edge of Arabia’s campaign to foster art education in Saudi Arabia.
Gharem’s quest to help nurture and support the art scene in Saudi Arabia is also evident in his most recent endeavor, Gharem Studio. Based in Riyadh, the studio was established in June 2014 as a multifaceted art platform. Gharem Studio hopes to not only to bring together various creative professionals and help foster collaborations among them, but also to offer an opportunity for them to work with emerging artists. “Gharem Studios [aims] to empower artists and creatives with knowledge, empower them with a space to vent, [and] aid them with practical things [such as exhibition space], a library and so on,” said Gharem.
Operating as an alternative space for people to meet each other, Gharem Studio’s main goal is to cultivate natural and organic growth in the local art community, without any outside influence. Gharem Studio has, thus, adopted an inclusive attitude. “I want this space to act as a guide for everyone who utilizes it to [be able to] come up with ideas and initiatives, [and for it to be] a place where people can be natural,” said Gharem. “When I was younger I suffered from what I call being ’a double dealer,’ where in front of society you are a certain person and behind closed doors you are someone else. [With Gharem Studio] I’m trying to create a holistic environment. I might have made mistakes in the past, but I want the next generation of artists to learn from me,” he added.
The studio was created from Gharem’s desire to take advantage of living in a contemporary society and address issues that arise from living in such circumstances. According to the artist, people need a place to freely do what they love, and Gharem Studio is aimed at making people feel that way—like they are a complete citizen. It is a place where one can contemplate societal issues without worrying about ideology, and have help in directing new conceptual ideas and initiatives; but most importantly, it is a space where artists can be true to themselves.
“Artists are repressed in the Arab world—they haven’t been given the space to find a role, so they just roleplay,” said Gharem. “There is a big problem between understanding freedom and having fun. Pushing artists to produce work requires a lot of effort and energy, but that is how […] their energy and vision [should be used]—to enhance and produce something that is eternal. That is the core goal of Gharem Studio: to [encourage artists to] find a mission and a sense of belonging.”
The sense of engagement is critical in the Arab art world, as the scene continuously adjusts to its own internal and external demands, and spaces such as Gharem Studio are on the forefront of helping to create an atmosphere of increasingly uninhibited expression.
Interior view of Gharem Studio. Photo by Ajlan Gharem.