JEDDAH.- Sotheby's announces ‘Jeddah Art Week’, a ground-breaking week of arts events and cultural activities in Saudi Arabia, which will take place from Tuesday, February 26th until Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 in Jeddah. Patron and founder of ‘Jeddah Art Week’, Sotheby’s launches the first-ever highlights exhibition in Saudi Arabia, which will feature select artworks from its forthcoming auction in Doha of Contemporary Art. The show will begin the week of events and will be staged at the Al Furusiya Marina & Yacht Club, Park Hyatt. This significant date on the 2013 MENA-Region arts calendar will also include, among other events, an exhibition of Saudi contemporary art organised by Jeddah-based Athr Gallery, Ayyam Gallery’s grand opening of their Saudibased premises, a charity auction to benefit Al Madad Foundation, as well as Dar Al Hekma College as educational partner and Edge of Arabia.

Commenting on this landmark initiative in Saudi Arabia, Lina Lazaar Jameel, Sotheby’s International Contemporary Art Specialist and Founder of Jeddah Art Week (Jaou), said: “There has been a real hunger for a week of arts events in Saudi Arabia, a country which is brimming with culture and history, and therefore we are delighted to have been able to create and pioneer such a framework with ‘Jeddah Art Week’.”

Continuing, Lina said: “Without the collaboration from Saudi cultural innovators, such as leading galleries Athr and Ayyam, the Al Madad Foundation and Edge of Arabia, as well as the educational partner Dar Al Hekma College, among others, Sotheby’s would not have been able to found this diverse and dynamic platform. The level of local support and involvement from the partners and supporters of this ground-breaking week has enabled us to together focus the attention of art world on Jeddah at this time of year.”

Calendar of Events during ‘Jeddah Art Week’

Tuesday, February 26th: Mostly Visible
‘Mostly Visible’ is a group exhibition curated by Ashraf Fayadh in collaboration with Athr Gallery. This will take place at Al Furusiya Marina & Yacht Club, Park Hyatt This Athr Gallery show will be on view to the public from 26th February until the 26th March.

Tuesday, February 26th: Sotheby’s First-Ever Exhibition in Saudi Arabia
Sotheby’s first-ever exhibition in Saudi Arabia will be of highlights from its forthcoming Doha Auction of Contemporary Art. The exhibition, staged at Al Furusiya Marina & Yacht Club, Park Hyatt, will go on view to the public from February 26th until February 27th and will be open each day from 9am until 8pm.

Tuesday, February 26th: A Talk with Saudi Filmmaker Ahd Kamel
Ahd Kamel’s talk at Athr Gallery will be about her recent participation with Sanctity at the Berlin International Film Festival. Members of the public will be able to attend the talk, which will take place between 6 and 7pm.

Tuesday, February 26th: Charity Auction, Taken by Sotheby’s Lord Poltimore
Lord Poltimore, Deputy Chairman Sotheby’s Europe and Auctioneer, will conduct a fundraising auction at Athr Gallery on the evening of Tuesday, February 26th. The proceeds from this charity sale of donated artworks will fund Al Madad Foundation's affiliated education literacy programmes for disadvantaged Lebanese children, as well as Palestinian and Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.

Tuesday, February27th: Pen To Paper
Co-curated by Athr Gallery and Al Madad Foundation, ‘Pen To Paper’ is a group exhibition that will take place at Athr Gallery and will feature Moataz Nasr and Giovanni Ozzola. The show will be on view to the public from February 27th until March 26th.

26th–27th February: Edge of Arabia Artist Mentorship Programme
Stephen Stapleton and Abdulnasser Gharem will host one-to-one mentoring sessions for young Saudi Arabian artists in Dr Sami Angawi’s iconic Jeddah residence.

27th February: Dar Al-Hekma Symposium
‘Finding Your Place, Realising Your Passion: A conversation with 5 women in the Saudi art community’. The symposium will take place in the Grand Auditorium of the Hekma School of Art and Design at Dar Al-Hekma College, Jeddah from 3-4pm. The five women in the Saudi art community involved in the symposium will be Abeer Mishkhas, Manal Al Dowayan, Sharifa Al Sudairi, and Maha Malluh.

27th February: Grand Opening of Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah
The grand opening of Ayyam Gallery in Jeddah will feature Mohannad Orabi’s solo exhibition ‘Profile Portraits’. Ayyam Gallery’s Jeddah premisies will be at Bougainvillea center Jeddah, 3rd Floor King’s Road, Al-Shat’ta District.