Dar Al-Hekma, SCTA initiate ‘Reinventing Asir’ project

Dar Al-Hekma University, in partnership with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), is initiating the Reinventing Asir project to position Asir as a signature region for progressive preservation.
The project will have multiple legs where the first one starts at the historical site of Al-Okaz village in Asir, on Feb. 18, and the last one ends in Jeddah on March 5.
“The initiative seeks to engage international and local artists, architects, designers, scientists, curators, scholars and community stakeholders in a dialogue that explores ways to bring the past of Asir into a significant future, by merging ancient wisdom with cutting-edge trends and technology,” said Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma University.
Reinventing Asir is a visionary project that focuses on the reinvention of the vernacular. It builds on the rich and ancient traditions and heritage of Asir.
Moreover, it has been taken as an area of intervention to demonstrate how local tradition and history can be woven into the global context of new media science, art and technology, according to Anna Klingmann, project leader and curator, and chair of the architecture department at Dar Al-Hekma University.
The project starts 50 km outside the city center of Abha at the historical site of Al-Okaz village in Asir. It will feature site-specific art installations from Feb. 18 to 20. Many artists are working hand in hand from all over the globe; Anne Senstad from the United States, Thierry Mauger from France, C. Hennix from Germany and Ahmed Mater and Ibrahim Abu Musmar from Saudi Arabia.
The artists will transform the site by color, light projections, photographs and sound installations to turn it into a multisensorial experience. The abandoned village will come to life and be a hub where local residents start conversations, remember their past but also discuss the potential future.
Part of the project is a students’ competition that will be held on Feb. 20. During the competition, students will present their design proposals for Al-Okaz village to a multidisciplinary panel of architects, artists and local stakeholders. The winner will be announced once the best design is selected.
The second part of the project will be held in Jeddah where the installation of Al-Okaz village will be showcased the following week starting with the opening of a photography exhibition by Thierry Mauger, who is part of the team for the video projections, on Feb. 25. After that, they will be shown during the Hekma Design Week in March 2015.
Hekma Design Week & Symposium is a cross-disciplinary, five-day event of intense workshops, presentations and talks that bridge multiple scales and disciplines ranging from traditional and contemporary art forms to site-specific art interventions, architecture, interior design, graphics, branding and fashion.
Finally, a video documentary of Asir events will be projected at the Athr Gallery in Jeddah alongside a contemporary majlis art installation that will take place in March by Anne Senstad, another artist who was part of the team for the video projections.
The Reinventing Asir events at Dar Al-Hekma University represents the beginning of an ongoing collaboration and research between Anna Klingmann, architecture students of Dar Al-Hekma University, SCTA and the local stakeholders in Asir as well as renowned international artists, architects, designers and scholars.
The collaboration aims to creatively explore and demonstrate how a historical village may be redefined and reclaimed with advanced technologies through an amalgamation of traditional architecture with contemporary art in a unique setting.