Lecture Manal Aldowayan

Museum Arnhem, together with ArtEZ/BEAR and ArtEZ studium generale, organize a lecture by Manal AlDowayan. AlDowayan is one of the participating artists of the exhibition Your Voice Matters in De Kerk [The Church], in Arnhem.

A multi-media artist, Manal AlDowayan has developed a practice that revolves around participation of the public in the making of her artworks. An example of this collaboration is ‘Tree of Guardians’ (2014), which is part of the exhibition Your Voice Matters. This installation is, according to the artist, “an exercise that examined the question: when do women disappear from the collective memory of women in Saudi Arabia, especially in the context of a memory that is confined to oral history?” The installation consists of ink drawings of maternal family trees and 1800 brass leaves suspended from the ceiling.

In her talk at ArtEZ/BEAR, AlDowayan will discuss the politics of participation and the ideas behind the different spaces that she occupies when producing her work. She will present her on-going research around the themes of representation, participatory art, and the power structures behind invisibility.

AlDowayan uses research methods of interviewing and data collection to look at social change in contemporary culture, with a large focus on the status of Saudi women and their representation.
Manal AlDowayan (1973 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) lives in Dubai, UAE. She holds a MSc in Systems Analysis and Design, and a MA in Contemporary Art Practice in Public Spheres from the Royal College of Art.

With her research based practice, AlDowayan is a leading voice in her region’s contemporary art scene. She has been the recipient of research grants and residencies from around the world. These include fellowships from New York University Abu Dhabi, the Clore Foundation in the UK, and residency invitations from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the Delfina Foundation. She has shown her work in ‘Prospect 3 New Orleans’ – The American Biennale (2014/15), in collateral shows at the Venice Biennial (2009/11), and at museums like Gwangju Museum in South Korea, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, Victoria & Albert Museum in the UK, LA County Museum in USA, Aga Khan Museum in Canada and iThra Museum in Saudi Arabia. Currently, she has a solo presentation ‘Watch before you fall’ at Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Madrid, until March 30th, 2019. Her work is on permanent display at the British Museum and Mathaf Museum of Arab Art in Doha, Qatar.

Your Voice Matters, in De Kerk, the temporary exhibition space of Museum Arnhem, Walburgisplein 1, Arnhem NL. March 8 – May 12, 2019