JEDDAH.- Entitled I Love You, Urgently, the seventh edition of
21,39 Jeddah Arts is a call to action in response to the environmental emergency from the specificity of a local context. At a time when Saudi Arabia is undergoing a rapid transformation, it asks local and international artists, architects, designers and thinkers to seek out tangible solutions, and to formulate alternative and symbiotic ways to inhabit our planet.
The title of the seventh edition is an unexpected address. As it departs from the scientific vernacular, it emphasizes the highly personal dynamics we are living today. Through exhibitions, commissions and a series of dialogues, talks and debates taking place in the gallery spaces of the Saudi Art Council and in Al-Balad, the historic city center of Jeddah, participants are invited to address three specific themes: ideas of biomimicry, the imitation of the models, systems and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems, of adaptability, and of specificity, how to think of alternative and symbiotic ways to inhabit our planet from a local context.
Maya El Khalil, curator of the seventh edition of 21,39 Jeddah Arts, said: Artists, architects and designers in short, creators are in a unique position to explore ideas and take an active role in dismantling Anthropocene attitudes, replacing these with solutions to the environmental crisis we face and inspiring debate and dialogue. I have long been delighted and fascinated with the concepts and positive attitude of biomimicry, as well as with the notion that, by emulating natures time-tested patterns and strategies, we already have the solutions to a sustainable future. I hope 21,39 Jeddah Arts 2020 is a catalyst for new ways of thinking about how we live.
As inspiration for the program, 21,39 Jeddah Arts will also feature a special presentation documenting the pioneering work in biomimicry and adaptability of Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Frei Otto (19252015). In a period of hyper-consumption, his radical philosophy of architecture before architecture provides a powerful contrast to acceleration and excess. The presentation, curated by Maya El Khalil and Georg Vrachliotis, professor of architecture theory and director of the architecture collection at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, offers an opportunity for reflection on a vision that contributed to the urban landscape of Saudi Arabia, home to some of his most innovative projects.
Through I Love You, Urgently, 21,39 Jeddah Arts aims to directly engage its public with the environmental and sustainability dialogues currently taking place internationally, while encouraging an understanding of these debates within a local context and urging active new responses. Crucially, young people sit at the core of this ambition, and the seventh edition will continue building on the work by the Saudi Art Council to fill a demand gap in the artistic education across Saudi Arabia.
HRH Princess Jawaher bint Majed bin Abdulaziz, Chairwoman of the Saudi Art Council, said: The city of Jeddah has long been at the forefront of Saudi Arabias contemporary art scene, and we are excited to bring creative responses to environmental concerns to the table with the seventh edition of 21,39 Jeddah Arts. As a culturally rich melting pot, Jeddah is a place of exchange for new ideas, and we look forward to presenting a multifaceted program that we hope will be the springboard for dialogue between local and international artists and audiences, and which will give voice to young people through an extensive educational outreach program.