International sculpture festival brings together 15 artists from 11 countries

SALALAH: The inaugural Dhofar International Sculpture Festival is under way as part of Dhofar Municipality’s programme for the Dhofar Khareef 2026.
Running from August 15 to September 3, the festival brings together 15 artists and sculptors from Oman and 10 other Arab and international countries, offering visitors an opportunity to watch large-scale marble sculptures take shape in an open public setting.
The festival is being held in front of the Municipal Recreation Centre in Atin, where visitors and visual arts enthusiasts can observe the artists working directly on marble. Once completed, the sculptures will be installed at several prominent locations across Dhofar Governorate.
The event forms part of Dhofar Municipality’s efforts to broaden the cultural programme during the Khareef season and introduce visual arts alongside the other activities held across the governorate.
The participating artists are producing works inspired by Oman’s environment and Dhofar’s cultural identity, with themes drawn from the governorate’s landscape, heritage and local symbols.
The festival features artists from Oman, Sudan, Germany, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Morocco and Ecuador. Their work reflects a range of artistic approaches and gives visitors a close view of the techniques and stages involved in marble sculpture.
Dr Ibrahim al Khatib, artistic adviser to the festival, said the works were selected according to an artistic vision that emphasised their connection with Dhofar’s identity, natural environment and cultural character.
He said the organising committee had discussed the type of works best suited to the atmosphere of the Khareef season and the governorate’s heritage before deciding that the sculptures should remain closely linked to local identity.
The frankincense tree, with its historic and cultural significance to Dhofar, appears in the ideas of several participating sculptors, alongside themes inspired by the Khareef landscape, palm trees and other elements associated with the governorate’s visual identity.
Dr Al Khatib said he had visited Dhofar several times before, but this was his first visit during the Khareef season.
He said the visit had given him a clearer sense of the scale of development, public activities and tourism movement taking place in the governorate during the season.
“I felt that the people of Dhofar and the visitors were all celebrating the Khareef,” he said. “Children, women, young people and the elderly were taking part in events and gatherings across different locations, alongside artistic and musical groups from different countries and cultures.” He said the diversity of activities in public spaces gave the season a distinctive character and reflected the effort being made to attract and engage visitors.

Dr Al Khatib added that the participating artists had visited several natural and tourism sites across Dhofar, many of which were drawing large numbers of visitors from different countries.
He also praised Dhofar Municipality for including visual arts in the season’s programme.
“Theatre, music and poetry are important parts of culture, but sculpture, painting, ceramics and other visual arts can create a tangible legacy for future generations,” he said.
“The sculptures and artworks produced in Dhofar can, over time, become part of the governorate’s visual memory and develop into artistic and cultural landmarks recognised by visitors and the local community.” Omani artist and sculptor Salim al Marhoon is participating with a work entitled “The Name of Allah”, inspired by Arabic calligraphy.
Al Marhoon said his relationship with stone is based on interaction rather than simply imposing a predetermined form on the material.
“I see Dhofar itself as a threshold and a gateway to history — a place where the sea meets the mountain — and this is what I am trying to express symbolically in the work.” Al Shouman said his participation in artistic events in around 21 countries had given him wide-ranging experience, but described Dhofar as a particularly distinctive setting because of its natural environment, culture and visual identity.
German artist and sculptor Martin Schössler also expressed his pleasure at taking part in the festival, which marks his first visit to Oman and Dhofar Governorate.
He said his impression of Oman had been positive from the first days of his visit and praised the hospitality and kindness of the Omani people.
Schössler said his work is based on the idea of movement and flow, expressed through curves and changes in height and depth.
He explained that the final stone form retains traces of movement and life, while the contrast between rough and smooth surfaces gives the sculpture its distinctive visual character.
Omani artist and sculptor Yusuf al Rawahi, organiser of the Al Khadra Sculpture Symposium in Al Mudhaibi, said Dhofar was well suited to hosting an international sculpture event because of its tourism appeal and its ability to attract visitors from around the world.
“This makes Dhofar an appropriate environment for visual arts in their different forms, particularly sculpture,” he said.
Al Rawahi said he was taking part following an official invitation from Dhofar Municipality and thanked the municipality for organising the event and expanding the range of cultural activities during the season.
He said the participation of artists from Arab and European countries created opportunities for artistic and professional exchange, while allowing each artist to adapt an individual style to themes linked to Omani culture and identity.
His own work, he said, carries several messages directed at society and draws inspiration from paper, books, newspapers and Omani architecture, which he seeks to bring together in his sculptural compositions.