The pioneering art initiative, which has become both regionally and internationally recognized as the main instigator behind a contemporary Saudi art presence, is now giving back to the place where it all started: its homeland, Saudi Arabia.
On April 19, 2011, Edge of Arabia will be auctioning off six works at Christie’s Dubai sale of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art. The auction is a fundraiser to enable the expansion of Edge of Arabia’s education program and art workshops in Saudi Arabian schools and universities.
“In a humbling act of appreciation, six artists have generously donated iconic works, previously shown in major Edge of Arabia exhibitions in London, Venice, Berlin and Istanbul, in order to support the expansion of an education program targeting local communities and especially young people,” stated Stephen Stapleton, Edge of Arabia Founder.
The group of works from selected artists is estimated to raise approximately $150,000 / SR560,000. In December 2011, an international symposium in Jeddah is to be held, marking the first attempt to bring both local and international Saudi contemporary art enthusiasts together in one setting.
Christie’s, the leading art auctioneers in the Middle East and the leading art business in the world, has a history with Edge of Arabia that begin in April 2009, when Christie’s Dubai held an auction, which included a small, but important group of works by Saudi Arabian artists. That was the first time such works had been offered at an international auction. The group of works was all sold.
“Having helped to establish Middle Eastern art as a collecting area among an international group of buyers, this sale re-enforces Christie’s commitment, as market leaders, to support the development of arts education in the region,” stated Isabelle de La Bruyère, Director of Christie’s Middle East. “We are proud to have been given this wonderful opportunity by Edge of Arabia and hope the money raised will inspire the next generation of contemporary artists in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.”
“The artists in this sale include the founding members of the Edge of Arabia stable and are considered the pioneers of Saudi contemporary art,” revealed Stapleton.
The highlight of the sale is a three-meter wide wood and copper dome symbolizing the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem by Abdulnasser Gharem, a leading contemporary Middle Eastern artist and co-founder of Edge of Arabia. Entitled Message/ Messenger and created in 2010, it hides beneath its vast diameter a small dove, the symbol of peace and is estimated at $70,000-100,000 / SR 262,500-375,000. The work was also one of the highlights of Edge of Arabia’s groundbreaking exhibition in Istanbul.
"Saudi Arabia is a dynamic growth area for Christie’s. I am proud of my country’s vibrant contemporary art scene and this sale will allow international buyers to acquire work from this impressive group of talented emerging and established contemporary artists," stated Hayat Shobokshi, Christie’s recently appointed representative in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "The commitment of Edge of Arabia to re-invest in the future of arts and culture in Saudi Arabia is to be applauded."

Born in 1973 in Khamis Mushait where he still lives and works, is both a practicing artist and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Saudi Arabian Army. He studied at the Al-Miftaha Arts Village in Abha along with his friend and is now a recognized pioneer of conceptual art in Saudi Arabia. His work features in important collections including the British Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
He is adamant about his commitment to Saudi Arabia and said: “Move abroad? No way. My art is related to the people living in Saudi Arabia. I am living in one of the most interesting countries in the world. Why move? I want to show you what has happened in this country. This is my mission.”
, who co-founded Edge of Arabia with Gharem, is a practicing doctor who lives and works in the Aseer region of Sounthern Saudi Arabia. Much celebrated for his X-Ray Illumination series, the work offered for sale, “Evolution of Man,” is a series of five light boxes showing a petrol pump in x-ray form slowly evolving into the head and torso of a man pointing the pump nozzle and then a gun to his head (estimated $22,000-28,000 / AED 81,000-103,000).   He describes himself as “the son of this strange, scary oil civilization.”
“Maharem,” a play on the Arabic word used to describe tissues and your close family, is by . In this work, the Jeddah-based artist has taken a group of tissue boxes, decorated them with posters advertising classic Arabic films from the 1940s or 1950s and stacked them beside and on top of one another.
The 64 boxes, arranged vertically with the tissues pulled out on each, were executed in 2009 and are estimated at $20,000-25,000 / 73,000-92,000 AED. Yossri, Palestinian with Jordanian nationality, has spent most of this life in Jeddah and is one of Saudi’s leading artists.
, leading Saudi lens-based artist known for her depiction of Saudi women issues through her art, is offering the Time Seduces and Time Betrays triptych. This monumental piece is the largest from her recent series “And We Had No Shared Dreams.” The series depicts an imagined conversation between urban inhabitants and their cityscape, confronting the complex issues of uncertainty, conflict and constant flux in the relationship.
The delicate black and white prints mounted on aluminum dibond explore this dialogue through words in the artist’s script cut out of aluminum and backlit with LED lights. The city acts as a theatrical backdrop, only infused with life by its inhabitants. The rough and flashy medium of the foreground further amplifies people’s constant need for attention and reconciliation.
The piece offered is from an edition of two plus one artist’s proof. It carries an estimate of $15,000-20,000 / 55,000-73,000 AED. Manal Al Dowayan’s work is in significant international institutions, including the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts and the British Museum
, the other female artist, is based in Riyadh and began her work as a photographer. More recently she has begun to work with photograms – one of the oldest forms of photography not involving a camera or a negative but using photographic paper exposed to light. Her Unvieled is a large light box containing a group of kitchen utensils animated with smiling faces (estimate: $5,000-7,000 / 18,000-26,000 AED).
A Lambda print mounted on aluminum by entitled “Marhabba” from the series “Washaeg” and depicting two figures in the desert before an expansive sky pierced with sunlight, became iconic as the marketing image for Edge of Arabia Dubai. The work is an artist’s proof from a sold out edition of three and is estimated at $5,000-7,000 / AED 18,000-26,000).