UNCLAS RIYADH 001412

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL KPAO KWMN OEXC SA XF ZP ZR
SUBJECT: Mixed Gender Audience Flocks to American Art Opening

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

Summary
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1. American artist Laurie Goddard visited Saudi Arabia October 3 -
October 10, conducting workshops with art students and putting on
exhibitions of her paintings in Dhahran, Jeddah and Riyadh. The
opening in Riyadh of a show of her work prompted a rare -- for Saudi
Arabia -- mixed-gender public event. This opening, at Riyadh's
leading art gallery, also drew extensive media coverage. The
Embassy and the Ministry of Culture and Information co-sponsored the
event, and the Ambassador and Deputy Minister of Culture and
Information Dr. Abu Bakr Bagader inaugurated the exhibit. The art
students who attended Ms. Goddard's workshops were grateful for the
experience and enthusiastic about what they learned. The workshops
conducted at Princess Noura University in Riyadh provided post with
the opportunity to forge new links with the university community.
End Summary.

Laurie Goddard and Artists Abroad/ART in Embassies
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2. American abstract expressionist painter Laurie Mason Goddard
visited Saudi Arabia October 3 through October 10 under the auspices
of the American Artists Abroad part of the ART in Embassies program.
Her program included workshops and exhibitions in Dhahran, Jeddah,
and Riyadh.

Art Students' Enthusiasm about Workshops
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3. Ms. Goddard's workshops, with female Saudi art students in
particular, proved remarkably successful, as aspiring Saudi artists
proved keenly eager to discuss both the technical aspects of
painting and the role artists play in society. For example, EmbOffs
and Ms. Goddard were bowled over by the enthusiasm and thirst for
knowledge of the workshop participants at Princess Noura University.
The ten fine arts students who participated in Ms. Goddard's
hands-on workshop practically demanded that additional workshop time
be programmed -- and the sessions were extended. Though taken aback
by the students' lack of exposure to Western art -- particularly
figure painting and modern painting -- Ms. Goddard was impressed by
the students' talent and desire to broaden their horizons. At the
end of the workshops' last session, one of the participants said to
EmbOffs that she felt "...free, like I am flying. I know now how to
express myself in a new way."

New Outreach to Academic Community
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4. Ms. Goddard's workshops also provided the opportunity for post
to broaden its outreach to the Saudi academic community. At
Princess Noura University, EmbOffs met with a delegation of faculty
members who underlined their interest in working with the Embassy to
generate educational programming and get help linking up with U.S.
universities potentially interested in partnering relationships with
Princess Noura University. Note: The Princess Noura bint
Abdulrahman University in Riyadh opened in October 2008; the school
is a public, women-only institution with a projected capacity of
40,000 students. End Note.

Mixed Gender Art Opening Unusual
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5. Ms. Goddard's visit to Saudi Arabia ended with a strikingly
successful exhibition of her paintings at Riyadh's leading private
art gallery, the Hewar Art Gallery. The exhibition, co-sponsored by
the Embassy and the Ministry of Culture and Information, was
inaugurated by the Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Culture and
Information Dr. Abu Baker Bagader. The event received an
extraordinary amount of media coverage; over a dozen reporters and a
handful of camera crews covered the event, including representatives
from Saudi TV-1, the newspaper Al-Jazira, and the women's magazine
Sayyidaty. Most striking however, nearly half of the 100 of so
guests who attended were women, and all the guests mixed easily.