Moving to Bahrain 20 years ago from Iraq, Bayan was brought up in a world of art, as at the time artists from around the world would travel to Iraq to study Arts. As the situations in Iraq became difficult, Bayan’ s friends and family would send her the art pieces to retail in Bahrain in order to assist them. This lead to Bayan’ s friends asking her to acquire more pieces to bring to Bahrain as they were so unique and beautiful, and resulted in the opening of Al Riwaq Art Space in 1998.“ I’ ve always wanted to do something like that. And there was the initial fear of course, but then I took the first step and it was beautiful”, she says. Inviting artists of different backgrounds such as Bahraini artists and artists of the Arab Diaspora to have talks and discussions about themselves and their art.“ I felt art is the best way to connect with different cultures, I come from a very expressive background myself, and so I feel art is the simplest way to reveal your emotions or feelings without having to say it.” Over time, students were also invited to visit the gallery and have them start an honest dialogue about the way art spoke to them. The gallery was not just for exhibits of fine art, but also opened the floor for video installations, making it one of the first galleries in Bahrain to do so, as well as introducing other forms of art such as music, poetry, and even cooking.“ There is no limit to creativity, and that is why we have called it Al Riwaq Art Space. It is a space where we can meet with like-minded creative people, and it encourages further creativity, and that is when we started to go out in the streets.”
Almost revolutionizing the way art is perceived in Bahrain, Bayan quite literally was able to pour art out in the streets of Adliya in 2011. The exhibition, titled Manamatina, was done in 2011, and comprised of art that showed Bahrain was a place for everyone and allowed artists to reflect on through their art what Bahrain meant to them. The art started from within the gallery, and spilled onto the streets with an open-air cinema that showed famous Egyptian movie, Antar and Abla, and Indian movie, Mother of India. The public exhibit had projection on the walls, making people feel comfortable with the otherwise dark alleys in the area. The success of the exhibit encouraged the neighboring restaurants to participate in this initiative, and gave rise to a unique collaborative image that has shaped the artistic and social culture of Adliya. Growing organically out of a need for a social and cultural scene that
24 Perle SPRING 2018