DUBAI: Daniah Al-Saleh, winner of the second edition of Ithra Art Prize, will exhibit her winning commission, Sawtam, for the first time at Art Dubai.
Sawtam is a multimedia artwork that is Arabic for phoneme, the smallest unit of sound in a language. The artwork combines sounds and images to create a work that emotionally moves audiences.
The artist recorded herself pronouncing all the 28 Arabic phonemes, and created visual images of the sound waves of each phoneme. Al-Saleh used her own voice to signify the increasing recognition and rights women in Saudi Arabia are starting to enjoy.
“With the changes in Saudi Arabia, women are more prominent now. Many are holding very high positions,” the artist said.
“So I can use my own voice to say, ‘I am a female. I am a Saudi. Here I am,’” she added.
Al-Saleh hopes to inspire other women artists to realize their dreams. She is currently doing her Masters in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, with a specialization in Computational Arts – a form of art that combines technology and culture.
The Ithra Art Prize was started by The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Saudi and Art Dubai in 2017, to support emerging Saudi and Saudi-based contemporary artists. The annual prize awards the winner with up to $100,000 to realize their submitted proposal, which will also then be displayed at Art Dubai.
Art Dubai will organize a panel talk on Ithra Art Prize at 2pm on Friday, March 22.
