00:00 (water rushing)
00:02 - If you have a blank wall, like you don't think about it.
00:05 You walk past it, but when you add artwork to it,
00:07 it allows walls to become alive.
00:09 - I believe art is very healing.
00:12 I use it as my own therapy for healing.
00:15 (upbeat music)
00:17 - Hello, welcome to Cutter 365 with me, Adil Halim.
00:22 On this episode, we take a deep dive
00:24 into the world of visual arts.
00:26 We've come to one of the largest arts festivals
00:28 in the country.
00:29 The fourth edition of the Cutter International Arts Festival
00:32 brings together more than 300 global artists
00:34 from over 60 countries,
00:36 ranging from well-established creatives
00:38 to emerging talents.
00:39 I got a chance to speak with artists
00:40 and art lovers alike to find out
00:42 about this year's highlights.
00:44 - These buttons are made from the stones
00:51 and parts of glass.
00:54 They were also for so long in the water,
00:56 so they are not sharp anymore.
00:58 You can touch it, they are not sharp.
00:59 - Did you find it on the beach?
01:01 - Yes, I found it on the beach.
01:02 Someone's waste is my treasure.
01:04 - Irena Tosheva then turns that treasure
01:07 into sustainable fashion.
01:09 The Macedonian designer believes the fashion industry
01:12 can help create a better world
01:14 if people buy fewer clothes.
01:16 Instead, she prefers sustainable pieces
01:20 which last longer and are made with natural fabrics
01:23 and better quality materials.
01:25 - Sustainability for me personally
01:27 means when you're thinking from the beginning,
01:29 you're thinking of the end.
01:31 So you consider the fabric that you're using,
01:33 the whole story from the beginning to be practical.
01:37 If we are talking about clothes,
01:38 your client can use it regularly,
01:40 can wash it easily to not pollute the environment
01:43 and in the end to not put it in the bin
01:46 just to find it some new life.
01:48 - Irena is displaying her sustainable clothing
01:50 for the very first time outside of Macedonia
01:53 at the Qatar International Arts Festival.
01:57 She's one of the first fashion designers
01:59 to showcase a collection in the fest's five year history,
02:02 which has predominantly been a forum for visual artists.
02:05 With the theme of environment and sustainability,
02:09 Expo 2023 Doha was the ideal venue
02:12 for this year's arts festival.
02:14 - Qatar always gives a platform to worldwide artists
02:17 and this year we have around 302 artists
02:20 from 63 countries and around 475 artworks.
02:25 So this year when they came to know
02:26 that Expo is starting from October,
02:29 so we thought that we have the same theme,
02:31 so let's collaborate with Expo
02:33 and let's do this festival here.
02:35 - The festival's founder says
02:36 with the participation of 12 global galleries,
02:39 the arts festival provides a professional platform
02:42 for artists to exchange ideas and experiences.
02:45 It also helps international artists
02:46 sell their pieces in Qatar without taking a commission.
02:50 Reshmi says the annual festival is here to stay
02:53 and she's proud of its growth from year one to today.
02:57 - It's lots and lots of difference I can see.
02:59 Now people, they wait for Qatar International Arts Festival
03:02 that when it will announce the next edition.
03:04 We already got the confirmation for 2024 dates and 2025
03:09 and it is getting more popular.
03:10 People, they are waiting for to come here.
03:12 They want to come here
03:14 and it is a very beautiful platform for selling also.
03:16 - Sara Al-Hail agrees.
03:19 The Qatari artist works in oil and gas by day,
03:22 but she says pop art is her passion.
03:24 - One day, I just decided to have a change,
03:28 to change in my life or to add something,
03:30 a flavor of my life.
03:32 So I decided, let me,
03:33 I didn't have any idea that I would do arts
03:36 at the beginning.
03:37 So I just hold a pen and then I started to draw
03:40 and then I liked it and then I went deep to it
03:44 until I started to produce my art pieces.
03:47 - Sara began her artistic journey in 2018
03:51 at the same time as the first edition of this festival.
03:55 During that period,
03:56 she has noticed an increased appreciation for the trade.
03:59 - In old days, when they asked about the cost
04:02 of an art pieces, they got shocked.
04:04 That it is very expensive.
04:05 Nowadays, you can see that people understand art
04:08 and the beauty of art and the joy that can bring
04:11 to your house, to your place,
04:13 to your apartment, to everywhere.
04:14 - Qatar is no stranger to public art.
04:21 With 50 murals cover walls across Doha
04:24 with more on the way.
04:25 Now an international mural festival
04:27 that showcases the work of local, regional
04:30 and international artists has landed here
04:32 at the old Doha port.
04:34 I got a chance to speak with World Wide Walls founder,
04:36 Jasper Wong, to find out why he believes mural arts
04:39 can lead to urban beautification.
04:41 Why does public art breathe new life into urban spaces?
04:48 - I think what it does is,
04:50 it allows walls to become alive.
04:51 So if you have a blank wall,
04:53 like you don't think about it.
04:53 You walk past it,
04:55 you know, it's everyday, it's there.
04:57 You don't ever pay any mind to that wall.
05:00 But when you add artwork to it,
05:01 or an art installation,
05:03 the people stop.
05:04 They take photos.
05:05 They want to try to find out who it is,
05:07 go with the story, what the messages are.
05:09 And it allows sort of like more foot traffic,
05:11 creates more vibrancy in those neighborhoods.
05:13 And it just helps to sort of bring
05:14 the whole neighborhood up.
05:16 - Now you've got 13 artists featured here,
05:19 local, regional, international.
05:21 What does a platform like this mean for an artist?
05:24 - Well, it allows artists to sort of share their work,
05:26 to share their cultural stories,
05:27 or share it in a place where people
05:29 are familiar with their work as well.
05:30 It also helps them to connect with these local communities,
05:33 connect with other artists,
05:34 both locally and visiting,
05:35 and help to sort of bring up everyone.
05:37 - Now art can be very subjective, right?
05:39 So especially when you talk about something like graffiti,
05:41 there's proponents and then there's,
05:43 you know, critics.
05:44 Is that the same in mural art?
05:46 - Yeah, absolutely.
05:47 Absolutely.
05:47 Like, you know, there's people that love it,
05:48 people that hate it.
05:50 Like when I first started doing the project years ago,
05:51 people thought,
05:53 people felt that I was destroying the neighborhood.
05:55 There was actually even this anti-Jasper group of seniors.
06:00 Like, it wasn't like anti-graffiti,
06:02 or anti-street, or anti-murals.
06:04 It was like anti-me personally.
06:06 And they would walk around the neighborhood
06:07 trying to find me,
06:08 so just so that they could berate me.
06:09 - That must be kind of scary
06:11 with an angry mob of seniors coming.
06:12 - Exactly, always, right?
06:13 So then, you know, there's always that.
06:15 You know, there's people that like,
06:16 dislike what we're doing,
06:18 and what we've seen is the complete opposite.
06:19 And what we've seen is that what it does is,
06:21 as I said earlier,
06:23 like it makes neighborhoods feel alive.
06:23 You know, it creates foot traffic.
06:26 With that, it makes areas safer.
06:28 If there's more people around, it becomes safer.
06:30 It feels safer because it feels more vibrant,
06:32 there's more color.
06:33 As there's more people around,
06:34 they're discovering local shops, local restaurants,
06:37 and they're partaking in those.
06:38 And it helps to boost these sort of local economies,
06:40 and then more people want to build businesses
06:42 and do stuff out there too.
06:43 So it helps to like, sort of, you know,
06:45 raise up a community,
06:46 and raise up a neighborhood,
06:47 and sort of take it down.
06:49 - Could you have ever imagined,
06:50 when you started,
06:50 and you're being shooed out of areas,
06:52 to now being welcomed into public spaces?
06:54 - I mean, would have never imagined, you know,
06:57 like to be here in Doha.
06:59 Like, it's beyond my wildest dreams.
07:01 And we've done it in over 25 cities.
07:03 So I've traveled to all over Japan, to Korea,
07:07 and we've even done projects in Kathmandu,
07:10 in Rotterdam, in Sweden.
07:13 Like, we've done it like all over the globe.
07:14 (upbeat music)
07:18 - It's been said, art is a mirror of the mind,
07:20 and every masterpiece will forever capture
07:22 the artist's thoughts,
07:24 whether calm or turbulent.
07:26 That's why art is increasingly being used
07:27 to push boundaries of expression,
07:29 and a way to break social stigmas as a form of therapy.
07:33 Laila Humayra takes a look at how art uses color
07:35 and creativity as a healing tool.
07:37 (upbeat music)
07:40 - Vibrant, colorful, and feminine.
07:43 That's how Sally Khoury,
07:45 or better known as Sally K,
07:46 would describe her style.
07:48 - My work is inspired by capturing the essence
07:52 of empowered femininity, confidence,
07:54 and the strength that's inherent,
07:57 basically within every woman.
08:00 - The freedom to experiment with nature and colors
08:03 bloomed into a way to communicate with her audience.
08:06 (upbeat music)
08:08 - Creativity is a way to express yourself
08:11 in ways that sometimes you can't with words.
08:13 Color has a lot of meaning,
08:15 and it evokes emotions.
08:17 So I think being able to create
08:21 and have this nonverbal communication
08:23 between the viewer and the person is very important.
08:26 (upbeat music)
08:27 - While Sally uses flowers to light up an empty wall,
08:31 Carmela's artwork is a vivid contrast of colors
08:34 with equally powerful messaging,
08:37 like her piece on display she calls Optimistic.
08:40 (upbeat music)
08:41 - Optimistic is basically the darkness
08:44 that we face when we are facing negativity
08:47 and tribulations in our life.
08:48 If we choose to find the positive in life and things,
08:52 we can see that there's optimism all around us.
08:55 - Carmela's raw artwork are the results
08:57 of channeling her own life experiences
08:59 and turning what was once painful
09:02 into a powerful source of self-expression.
09:05 (upbeat music)
09:07 - I describe my style as emotional abstract.
09:10 I believe art is very healing.
09:12 I use it as my own therapy for healing,
09:15 going through childhood trauma as a kid,
09:17 childhood abandonment.
09:19 - And Carmela believes the deeper she goes
09:22 into exploring her craft, the more she thrives.
09:25 - I believe if you put boundaries on expression,
09:28 you set yourself up for a blockage
09:30 and you can't fully express yourself
09:32 the way that you would like to.
09:33 The sky's the limit, the universe is the limit.
09:36 - Whether you paint as a pastime or a passion,
09:39 the use of color in art is not only stimulating
09:42 for the mind, it also helps regulate moods
09:45 and is known to calm anxiety.
09:48 Artists themselves are increasingly mindful
09:50 of the art they create and more are using chromotherapy
09:54 to make conscious, impactful masterpieces.
09:57 Hala Al-Jafari is one of 30 artists
10:01 who displayed her work at Qatar Foundation's
10:04 Artful Minds exhibition at the Multaka Gallery
10:07 in Education City.
10:09 - My work is titled Breaking Bread.
10:12 I used oil on canvas and in this work,
10:16 I tried to show the importance of social connections.
10:20 - The pieces were specifically made and chosen
10:23 to raise awareness on mental health.
10:26 - I used little bit of blue as a sign
10:29 for bad mood or depression.
10:32 I wanted to everyone who look at my painting
10:35 to feel related in some way and for the people
10:40 who struggle with mental health issues
10:42 to know that they are not alone.
10:44 - A group of people huddled together in conversation.
10:48 That's one way to interpret the need
10:50 to have deeper discourse about mental health.
10:54 But Hala says there's more meaning to it.
10:57 - My message is to everyone,
10:59 either they're struggling with mental health or not,
11:03 to be aware or mindful about the circle of people
11:06 that is surrounding them,
11:09 the people who share their stories with.
11:12 After all, the most important person for yourself is you.
11:17 - While Hala hopes that anyone who sees her artwork
11:20 can find some peace of mind,
11:22 she also wants to inspire them
11:25 to create their own masterpieces.
11:27 - Just go ahead and try some kind of art,
11:31 any art you want, and you will immediately feel the relief.
11:36 (upbeat music)
11:39 - Whether you use art for therapeutic reasons
11:42 or just a fun getaway from the everyday,
11:44 we hope you enjoyed this episode of Qatar 365.
11:47 And that's all the time we have for now.
11:49 For more, check out euronews.com
11:51 and connect with us through a hashtag.
11:53 Thanks for watching.
11:54 I'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
11:56 (upbeat music)
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