Ras Tanura’s first virtual art exhibition highlights talents

Every year, with the help of the Ras Tanura (RT) Recreation Services Unit, we hold an art exhibition in the Najmah community. More recently, we extended this to include a separate Children’s exhibition, which has now become part of our calendar.

This year has been somewhat different, as we know, but I felt it was still important to showcase the artwork that our local artists take the time and trouble to create and to celebrate that talent. Therefore, a virtual exhibition was the only option. 

I had no experience of setting up a virtual gallery and first had to research and test suitable software. It was surprising to find just how few platforms there are to host online exhibitions; many were out of our reach financially. Google offers a free platform, but you have to apply and wait for a reply; I’m still waiting. Others limit the number of artworks you can display. I found a virtual space, where you can “walk” around, but its complexity meant it would prove to be far too time-consuming to work with. Eventually, I used an online portfolio and spent many, many hours trying to figure out how to put it all together.

The Children’s exhibition came first, and we had a good registration response with 48 exhibitors and 135 pieces of artwork, all highly imaginative and demonstrating creativity beyond their years. The winner of the Best in Show Award was Max Breuer for his outstanding comic book “War and Peace in Survont.”

The Desert Sky (adult) exhibition drew 22 exhibitors and a total of 141 pieces of artwork. The winner of Best in Show was Tanvi Patel with her oil painting entitled “Remember Me.”

All winners of the Children’s exhibition will receive a rosette as a prize.

It is wonderful to see so many artists participate in the Art Exhibition during this COVID-19 pandemic.
— Abdulrahman Aljafari

It is important to find a creative outlet as this can play an essential role in helping us all to process what is going on around us.

Although it was wonderful to be able to host these exhibitions virtually, there is no real substitute for being able to see the art in person. It is hoped therefore that we can display the artwork from both exhibitions in February 2021, in the White Sand Lounge as usual.

Desert Sky Winners
Oils: 1. “Remember Me,” Tanvi Patel; 2. “Dean in London,” Venetia Harwood; 3. “Unbreakable Bond,” Tanvi Patel; Highly Commended “Shamal 1,” Amanda Malan.
Acrylics: 1. “Daily Routine,” Monica Umare; 2. “Picking Dates,” Tina Kirkland; 3. “When Trees Dream,” Erik Melver.
Pastels, Pencil, Pen and Ink, Mixed Media: 1. “Revival – Vintage Hair Lounge, Harold Pearce; 2. “Ford Mirage M1 at Le Mans,” Harold Pearce; 3. “Awesome Twosome,” Prasanna Imandi.
Photography: 1. “Pilgrim,” Eric Tepner; 2. “Rahima Couch 3,” Eric Tepner; 3. Vatican Bramante Staircase,” Claudine Drummond.
Other Fine Crafts: 1. “Those Sour Grapes,” Shamim Shahzad; 2. “Women Going to the Pond,” Monica Umare; 3. “Link Necklace and Earrings Set,” Venetia Harwood Pearce.

Best in Show: “Remember Me,” Tanvi Patel.

Ras Tanura Children’s Art
Painting: (8 and Under) 1. “Flowers Tree,” Param Gohel; 2. “Snowy Night,” Danielle Waked; 3. “EKADANTA,” Gagan Sigadapu. (9-12) 1. “Free at Last, Olive Breuer; 2. “Flower Vase,” Ithra Magnoori; 3. “Bonding,” Aditi Gupta. (13-18) 1. “Blurry Vision,” Hibah Maryam; 2. “Northern Lights,” Afnan Bantwal; 3. “Coayacan,” Natalia Samano.
Pencil, Pastel, Crayon, Pen and Ink: (8 and under) 1. “Playing with Rainbows,” Hussain Zaheer; 2. “Natural Art Painting,” Heer Chheladiya; 3. “Sea Turtles,” Julia Hodge. (9-12) 1. “Nature Scene,” Abdul Fathaah; 2. “Helping Hand,” Rashad Anwar; 3. “Mandala,” Raveesh Acharyu. (13-18) 1. “War and Peace,” Max Breuer; 2. “Dancing Lines,” Dhruvi Gohel; 3. “Thor,” Kush Acharyu.
Photography: (8 and Under) No entries. (9-12) “Stunning Eagles,” Samuel Hodge; 2. “Colors of COVID,” Adily Gupta; 3. “Friends,” Maddie Enter. (13-18) 1. “Oceanus” and other submissions, Nayia Shah.
Crafts: (8 and Under) 1. “Fenced Fortress,” Micah Hayes; 2. “Peacock,” Rana Salem; 3. “Mum’s Treasures,” Hussain Zaheer. (9-12) 1. “Musical Rhythm,” Nandini Umare; 2. “Floral Fantasy,” Arham Zaheer. 3. “Vibrant Spring,” Nandini Umare. (13-18) 1. “Reused Plastic Bag,” Abirami Sivakumar; 2. “Parrot,” Dhruhi Patel; 3. “Blossom,” Deekshita Imandi.
Digital Photography: (8 and Under) No entries. (9-12) 1. “My Secret Pond,” Arham Zaheer; 2. “Gazing at the Stars,” Arham Zaheer; 3. “Snowball,” Jude Mustafa. (13-18) 1. “Saturation Street,” Lydia Swets; 2. “Dreamer,” Lydia Swets.

Best in Show: “War and Peace in Survont,” Max Breuer, age 13, Pen and Ink.