Sharjah Museums Department Announces The Opening Of The Lasting Impressions Exhibition

Sharjah Museums Department announced the opening of the 2nd edition of the Lasting Impressions exhibition. The announcement was made during a press conference, which was held at the Sharjah Art Museum yesterday. The exhibition, which is supported this year by HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, will host the Emirati artist Najat Meky, one of the UAE’s pioneering national artists.

SMD stated that hosting Meky comes in honor of her career achievements and in recognition of her significant contribution to all aspects of fine arts and artistic creativity in the country.

The activities of the two month exhibition are expected to officially start on the 28th of September. The Sharjah Museums Department and the Sharjah Art Museum have listed the Lasting Impressions program on their annual calendar. Through the works of one selected artist every year, the exhibition is intended to highlight the outstanding local and Arab artistic works that have a distinguished presence in the Arab contemporary cultural landscape.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Manal Ataya, Director General of the Sharjah Museums Department, stressed the vital role played by art in bridging cultures and enhancing cultural relations between nations. She mentioned that hosting the artist Najat Meky is part of the SMD’s continued importance to support the prominent contemporary artists in the regional art scene, provide exposure of their work to local audiences and foster their recognition internationally.

Ataya continued, "The purpose of the Sharjah Museums Department is to deliver the best services for the people of the Emirate of Sharjah and all its visitors through its facilities, exhibitions, and programmes related to learning, research and community outreach. The SMD is keen to highlight the role of the outstanding Emirati artist Dr. Najat Meky, who has made a long-lasting contribution to enriching the art movement at both the local and regional levels." SMD is committed to achieve and deliver the highest museum standards to visitors and aims to underscore the importance of art in enhancing the public culture of the history of nations and world civilization. The department is striving to create programmes and activities that help fulfill its mission and serve its goals.

Hind bin Darwish, the museums’ curator, said: "The exhibition will showcase the efforts of over 80 artists at the Sharjah Art Museum. The artworks will be displayed in sections - it will be divided across the four museum levels and spread over 30 halls. A seminar will be held on the sideline that will present important topics in the field of creative art. We, at the Sharjah Art Museum, are always striving to recognize accomplished artists who have contributed to enriching the art scene in the emirate of Sharjah, through exposure of their work to the public in regular group and solo exhibitions." In her statement about the exhibition, Najat Meky said: "This exhibition is an extension of the experiences that I have been exposed to since the late 1980s, including the phosphor colors. I benefited so much from those, that I reintroduced them again in a new form to showcase the aesthetic values in the power and brightness of the color. The brilliance of the phosphor color helped me in shaping a new vision of my artworks. The theme of the exhibition, ?Colorful Rhythms’, expresses the content of the displayed works in which the focus is on different forms of rhythm in the surrounding environment", she added.

In conclusion, Meky praised the efforts of the SMD and Sharjah Art Museum in organizing the exhibition, and underlined the role they played in raising deep cultural awareness on fine arts among the public.

Dr Najat Meky has a PhD in metal coins from the Faculty of Arts in Cairo, 2001, a Master’s Degree in Protrusions and Medals from the same Faculty (1998), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Cairo University (1996).

Through the course of her artistic journey she has exhibited her works widely, gained local and regional recognition, and received many awards, including The UAE Award of Culture and Arts (2008), first edition of the Sharjah Biennial Award (1993), Mahaba Biennial in Syria (1999), GCC Biennial in Qatar (1998), a silver medal from the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Dubai (1996), an award from the 1st Al Ain Plastic Arts Exhibition (1991), as well as the Al Owais Award of Culture and Science (1994).

Meky has participated in numerous important local and international exhibitions, including the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sharjah Biennial, the Al Mahaba Biennial (1999), three editions of the Cairo International Biennial, an exhibition organized on the sidelines of Women in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Conference in Muscat (1987), the Arabian Artists Exhibition in Sharjah (1995), 1st Riqqa International Forum in Syria (2008), 1st Jordan Forum, Photography Symposium in (2009), and Art Abu Dhabi 2009 -2010 at Emirates Palace.

Internationally she has participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair (2004), China International Sculpture Symposium (2008), the 2nd World Conference on Arts Education in Seoul, South Korea (2010), the 4th International Beijing Biennial (2010), the International Art Festival in Korea and the Middle East (2010), and the Tehran International Biennial .She has further participated in numerous other important local and international events.

Meky has organized a number of solo exhibitions, including, most notably, one at Al Wasl Club in Dubai (1987), under the patronage of the Higher Council for Youth and Sports, and another - on Sharjah Arts - in Bonn, Germany, in 2005.

Other solo participations include an exhibition at the UAE Cultural Festival (2004), as well as a number of solo exhibitions at the Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Foundation (2006), in Sweden (2007), at the Emirates Fine Arts Society, Sharjah (2007), in Cairo (1992 and 1997), at the Sharjah Museum (1998), the Emirates Fine Arts Society Exhibition (2009) and the Sharjah University Exhibition (2011).

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