JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts awarded 10 Saudi artists with the Abdulhalim Radwi Prize for Art under the theme of originality and modernity.
The artists were chosen out of 38 submissions and were awarded a gold medal along with SR 50,000 ($13,000) in prize money.
The competition was launched with the aim of promoting the arts within Saudi society and was organized by the daughter of the late Saudi artist and sculptor Abdulhalim Radwi, Dr. Maha Radwi, in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts and the University of Business and Technology in Jeddah.
The jury consisted of esteemed members of the art community, including Dr. Manal Al-Rwaished and artists Dr. Hanaa Al-Shebli and Huda Al-Shuhaib.
Submissions were varied, with artists employing mixed materials, sculpture and other mediums to create their works.
“An event of this magnitude, scale and standard revived the enthusiasm of artists,” Radwi said.
“The competition was presented in an innovative way that obliged participants to attend theoretical and practical workshops during the 10-day competition period.”
During the ceremony night held at UBT, attended by local and regional artists, Dr. Abdullah Dahlan, chairman of the university’s board of trustees, gave a speech in which he thanked the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts for its efforts to enrich the national culture and affirmed his support for all those working to elevate the country.
He also praised Radwi’s efforts in organizing the competition and shared fond memories of her late father and legendary artist, on whose life and work a short film was shown at the ceremony. A group of prominent artists who were his contemporaries — Abdullah Nawawi, Hisham Punjabi, Abdullah Idris, Abdullah Hamas and Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi — were also honored for supporting the prize.
Shortly after announcing the 10 prize winners, an exhibition for the participating artists was inaugurated, which featured all their artworks.
