The Embassy of Italy celebrated the 15th edition of the Italian Contemporary Art Day on October 13 at Stal Gallery with the opening of the exhibition “Tangible Monologues. Unexpected geographies of self-portraits”, the outcome of a project featuring young Italian and Omani artists who reflected on the theme of identity during a three-day workshop and engaged in a dialogue between different ways of looking at their own culture.
The initiative includes the Italian artist Gloriamaria Gorreri, winner of the “Artefici del nostro tempo” award, which has been promoted by the Venice Museums Foundation and the City of Venice in connection with the 58’ Venice Art Biennale under the theme “May you live in interesting times”.
The exhibition also features emerging Omani artists such as Budoor Al Riyami, Rawan Al Mahrouqi, Ruqaiya Al Balushi, Safa Al Balushi and Sarah Al Aulaqui. Art curator of Stal Gallery Hassan Meer, has been supporting and promoting Omani talents in the field of contemporary art over the last years with the Young Emerging Talents Prize.
The Contemporary Art Day is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy to celebrate and disseminate the culture of Italian contemporary art abroad. The initiative is also promoted abroad through the Italian Embassies abroad as the “Giornata del Contemporaneo” with events, presentations and exhibitions with the aim of not only highlighting the role of artists and their works but also the producers, curators, stand fitters, museum directors, critics, art magazines and books.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Italy, Federica Favi, together with Mr. Mattia Agnetti, Executive Secretary of the Venice Museums Foundation and Maurizio Carlin, Director for Culture and Tourism of the City of Venice, as well as by a number of officials and representatives of the cultural field in Oman, artists and art lovers.
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