Bait Muzna Gallery

Oman Tribune 31 Dec 2008

Seamless strokes
by David Salomon

Oman’s rich cultural heritage always offers room for more, writes David Solomon

GIVE a lady a canvas and a palette of colours and she’ll probably paint the town red. In a positive sense, the phrase could very well mean ‘creating a sensation’. Literally speaking, this could be very true of the art scene in Oman. Three out of the top four places where art abounds and is flourishing brilliantly, are in the hands of strong, capable women with a heart and soul, body and mind exclusively devoted to art. And what they have singly and collectively achieved for the art and artists of this country is nothing short of sensational, to say the least. There are no prizes for guessing who they are because anybody can see that this can only refer to Sarah White (Bait Al Zubair Museum), Maryam Al Zadjali (Omani Society for Fine Arts) and Ellen Molliet (Bait Muzna Gallery). While the first two are accomplished artists as well, with loads of accolades to their credit, the latter has shown her class by building bridges through art. But wait a minute! What about the fourth place? That of course is the one and only Bait Al Baranda, under the stewardship of Malik Al Hinai, who has opened up endless vistas of excitement, and turned Baranda into a unique meeting point to seek, explore, find, enjoy and absorb knowledge, art, literature or whatever, in a completely different sort of way.

Before Ellen Molliet took charge as the new director of the Bait Muzna Gallery, the art scenario in the capital was different. Galleries followed a fixed schedule. Earlier this year, the Bait Muzna introduced long-term measures to promote Omani art and artists beyond the boundaries of Oman. Being a powerhouse of ideas and with a vision for the future, Ellen has not taken very long to change the art scenario in Oman so that it is now very much throbbing and humming with new life, vitality and vigour.

Breaking out of the grey shades of status quoism, Ellen has used bold and bright colours to paint a new picture and change for the better the entire landscape of art in the Sultanate, giving Omani art a global identity and Omani artists a larger canvas on which to express themselves. “I wanted to make this process of viewing art interactive, so that there is a closer identification among the people with their own art and culture.”

As the director herself puts it: “I saw that in order to move ahead, we needed a change of pace and more importantly, a change in direction and focus.” Today thanks to her energy and dynamism, Ellen threw open the doors of the gallery in the lean summer months and hence has changed the way in which people look at art here in Oman. Not just that, she has also changed the way the world looks at Omani art and artists.

Explains Ellen: “Along with momentum and impetus, it was equally important to give our artists a presence and at the same time the necessary exposure to the latest trends in art around the world. Art is the soul of a culture and the gallery recognises that modern and contemporary art is an essential indicator of the state and progress of a society.”

Ellen’s strong faith in the world-class calibre and talent of Omani artists led her to showcase on an experimental basis the works of five Omani artists at the ArtParis International Art Exhibition in Abu Dhabi last year.

As a result, this year there are more Omani artists at the ArtParis show in Abu Dhabi than before.

Besides doing what she is for Omani art and artists, Ellen has to a large extent expanded the role of the gallery. “We’re not just into exhibiting artworks. There are many other spheres of activity in which Bait Muzna is actively involved. These include, among other things, the novel idea of taking art to the people who cannot come to the gallery. There are several rich art connoisseurs and collectors who don’t have the time to visit the gallery, so according to their request, we take the artworks to their homes where they can decide at leisure which pieces they want to buy. We are also collaborating with interior designers with regard to art pieces for office interiors.”

A fresh breeze in the Gulf
Arsalan Mohammad

Ellen Molliet, manager of the Bait Muzna gallery, in front of Hassan Meer's Little Maryam. Courtesy Bait Muzna
While the world's art collectors, curators, bankers, gallerists and artists regard the hubbub of activity bubbling excitedly in the UAE with increasing interest, most of them still draw a blank face when asked about Oman. For many visitors in the UAE, even to those who have lived in the Emirates for a few years, Oman is that place where one can get some decent diving in the serpentine waters of the Musandam and looks quite pretty in the spring. It is not the place where one finds a flourishing contemporary art scene.
Except for, in a way, it now is. As elsewhere in the Middle East, in Oman profound change is afoot. And for the country's band of artists, a great many of whom have been working diligently for decades with hardly any recognition abroad, the prospects of a new renaissance in Omani art, with artists creating an unprecedented flurry of interest from collectors and dealers both at home and abroad, are looking rosier than ever before.
Much of this activity can be attributed to French/German expatriate, and long-time Muscat resident Ellen Molliet. In a tranquil, traditional-style building, Oman's sole contemporary art space is the hub of a small revolution that aims not only to show Omani visitors an unprecedented breadth of work from around the world, but in turn, is harnessing the creative spirit at large among the country's artists and presenting it to an increasingly interested world.

Molliet, who's professional background includes experience in marketing and interior design, was born in Venezuela, and enjoyed a peripatetic childhood as the daughter of hoteliers, living in dozens of cities across the world, before ending up in Muscat just before the Gulf War in 1991. She returned a decade or so later, and visited the Bait Muzna gallery, to find a charming, if somewhat inchoate collection of items on display. A meeting with the then owner ended up with Molliet accepting the task of taking over the running of the place. Two years on, and thanks to Molliet's efforts, Bait Muzna, renovated to the tune of Dh91,825, is now regarded region-wide, as the hub of contemporary Omani art.
"People used to say Oman - where is it?" laughs Molliet. "Well, actually, I think it's getting better now, but once upon a time, it was like that. But now, if you talk about Omani art, people look at you with a big interrogation mark and say, well what is there? What do you have?"

Molliet's passionate espousal of her artists and devotion to achieving a professional parity with the rest of the Middle East - she currently represents 39 Omani and foreign artists - is key to Bait Muzna's success. The net worth of her entire collection is Dh1,836,500. She ensures that there is always a major exhibition on show, from local or foreign artists. From the man considered to be the father of contemporary Omani art, Anwar Sonya's grave abstracts to the frenetic canvasses of new, young artists such as Rasheed Abdulrehman and Tahira Fida, to painters from as far afield as Spain, Italy and the UK, the gallery manages to avoid repetition and dullness, instead, managing to come up with something fresh and different every couple of weeks. Molliet also organises frequent private exhibitions at local embassies and through this sideline, keeps her global network of talent topped up.
Although experiments with lectures and workshops haven't yet been as successful as hoped, Molliet remains committed to spreading the word around town. Since taking over Bait Muzna, she's tried, via various activities and events, to foment a local arts scene, as well as promote Omani art outside the country. But, in this city, the lack of an established creative infrastructure means her task is a monumental one.
There are over a thousand artists in Oman and out of them, about 20 are on an international level. Some of them are now becoming quite well known - people such as Hassan Meer, Anwar Sonya and Saleh al Shukairy. Just the other day, I got a call from a collector in London who is buying for Saatchi and he wants to buy some of their work. That's the level I want us to be at."

What the artists at the forefront of the new wave of creativity here do is a unique and intriguing synthesis of styles, themes and techniques that could be loosely defined as being a contemporary Omani milieu. Painting is king, using typically Arabic motifs and representations of nature and landscapes, with varying degrees of abstraction.
Molliet has a fondness for rich, colourful pieces that offer sustenance with their heavy lines and pointed use of colour. "Artists here will generally use acrylic or oil, pastels but no watercolour. I think watercolour is a very difficult technique and there is no one teaching it here."

But nowadays, a variety of other styles are creeping into to the mix - video art, installations and computer-generated work is now popping up in Bait Muzna on a regular basis.
Hassan Meer, a 35-year old Omani, educated in the US at the Savannah College of Art and Design, is one of the rising stars of the Oman scene. His work, which spans the gamut from traditional semi-abstract paintings to video art and installation, reflects not only his deep spiritual explorations, but addresses social issues and the effects of globalisation on the Arab world. As the founding force behind a loose collective of Omani artists, who organise an annual exhibition of progressive art dubbed The Circle, he epitomises the fresh breeze of inspiration blowing across the Gulf.
"Before 2000, not only Muscat, but in the Gulf, most of the artists, were only interested in abstract or realist painting," he says now. "But new forms of art weren't here. Really, experimental art started in the Gulf in around 2001, with the Sharjah Biennial. And we started with this - more people living here use technology now, mobile phones, computers. So now, when we do an art work, we have to use this. Abstract art is very difficult for many people to understand, but it is easy to understand work through new media, ordinary people get it."
Meer's work clearly shows the depth of experience gained working abroad. His painting has a fluency in colour and form, that enables him to transcend many of his contemporaries. His video work, such as the environmentally-themed piece he presented at the Sharjah Biennial last year, is accessible and dramatic. He is also representative of the close-knit, mutually supportive nature of those in the tiny art community. Charming, articulate and imbued with a fierce pride for his country, and a strong interest in the world at large, he is symbolic of the Omani art scene at large.

The community spirit at Bait Muzna, activities such as the Circle exhibitions and the inevitable interest that will follow the gallery's appearances at Artparis - Abu Dhabi and Art Dubai, as well as the curiosity aroused by Saatchi's purchases bode well for art in Muscat. Molliet plans a busy 2009, with sales trips abroad and some pro-active marketing of her artists. "Now I can prove to people who ask about Oman that we do have art and I want to put those people out there. They are great artists, I am comparing their artwork to some other bigger artists in the UAE and in the Gulf in general. Not only myself, but people from Artparis - Abu Dhabi and the collectors are saying that too, that they are not only on the same level, but better. So for me, that's what we reached and that is what makes me really happy."

SOMETIMES some things never seem to change for a long time. That is because most people think it is safer and more convenient to let the status quo prevail.

But there are some who are ready to experiment with new ideas, seeing it as the only way to move ahead and are ever ready to throw caution and convention out of the window and set into motion a process for change and new ideas. These are the people who become path-breakers, trendsetters and pioneers. They are the doers who open up new possibilities and change the world for the better.

One such person in Oman is Ellen Molliet, who has not only changed the way in which people look at art but is gradually changing the entire landscape of art in the Sultanate and giving Omani art a global identity and Omani artists a larger canvas on which to express themselves.

Nestled in the heart of this sparkling clean city is the Bait Muzna Gallery, originally the home of a member of the Sultanate’s Royal Family. It is a traditionally styled house renovated as an art gallery in January 2000 through the vision and dedication of American-born Her Highness Sayyida Susan Al Said.

Two main goals of the Bait Muzna Gallery are to provide a unique, accessible and welcoming venue to showcase talents and to promote them in the international art market. Art is the soul of a culture and the gallery recognises that modern and contemporary art is an essential indicator of the state and progress of a society.

In earlier days, it was an accepted norm that during the long four to five months of summer, all cultural activities would come to a virtual standstill. As a result, the four major art galleries in the city — Bait Muzna Gallery, Bait Al Zubair, Bait Al Baranda and the Omani Society of Fine Arts — the hub for showcasing the art and artists of the Sultanate, would become lifeless and silent. Nobody gave it a second thought because they all thought that this was the way it was meant to be.

Not until Ellen Molliet, who took charge as the Bait Muzna’s new director sometime last year, decided it was time to act and open up a new world; a world where art takes on a new form and face, which is more alive, more meaningful and more happening.

Ellen, a veritable powerhouse of ideas, was quick to spot the potential for giving the art scenario in the city a huge boost and inject it with new life and colour. “I really wanted to change the way in which people out here view art. Hitherto, there was this very stereotype come-look-and-go approach to viewing art in galleries in general and Bait Muzna was no exception. I thought this was so dull and boring. I wanted art lovers and connoisseurs to come and see art as a living organism, as an extension of the artists’ persona and more importantly, as the collective consciousness and voice of Omani artists. And lastly I wanted to make this process of viewing art interactive, so that there is a closer identification among the people with their own art and culture.”

Ellen was not prepared to accept the fact that galleries should remain closed and inactive just because it’s summer. She decided to capitalise on this lull period and promote Omani artists by giving them a larger canvas to exhibit their works and improve their visibility and presence. At the same time she felt it would be a nice way to keep the cultural pulse and heartbeat of the city alive and ticking.

“I’ve always thought that it’s such a waste to keep the gallery empty and idle during the long summer of nearly four months. That’s why I decided to put an end to this period of lull and inactivity and liven up the cultural activities.

“At least this would be a good opportunity to give Omani artists the place and the space to exhibit their works over a prolonged period of time and in the process push up their visibility to some extent.”

So Ellen thought it would be a great idea to let Omani artists use the Bait Muzna gallery during the lean period and simultaneously help to liven up the art scene considerably. “The artists are not only given ample space to exhibit some of their choicest works, but they also have the freedom to do their own thing inside the gallery whether it is to paint or interact with visitors who would like to know more about their works. Right now we have the works of 20 Omani artists that will be on display for the next four months. About 50 artists submitted their works for approval and we finally selected 20.”

The artists whose works are on display at the gallery now are: Rasheed Abdelrahman, Hassan Meer, Anwar Sonja, Radhika Hamlai, Mariyam Al Zadjali, Mohammed Fadel, Mohammed Al Zadjali, Mohammed Mehdi, Mohammed Shemali Al Balushi, Saleh Al Shukairi, Saleem Sakhi, Enaam Al Lawati, Tahira Fida, Idriss Al Hooti, Abdul Majid Karooh, Fahed Abdul Rahman, Moosa Omar, Naima Maimani, Iftikar Al Badawi and Madni Al Sukri.

Besides doing what she is for Omani art and artists, Ellen has to a large extent expanded the role of the gallery. “We’re not just into exhibiting art works. There are many other areas of activities into which Bait Muzna is actively involved. These include, among other things, the novel idea of taking art to the people who cannot come to the gallery. There are several rich art connoisseurs and collectors who don’t have the time to visit the gallery, so according to their request, we take the art works to their homes where they can decide at leisure which pieces they want to buy. We are also collaborating with interior designers regarding art pieces for office interiors.”

Ellen firmly believes that Omani art has evolved to the stage where it has now acquired a distinct identity and character of its own and it was now time to promote Omani art and artists, not just within the country but to carry their works to international exhibitions. “I want to show the world the excellent quality of Omani art and the tremendous talent that lies behind it; I want the world to know more about these generally shy, modest and under-exposed artists.”

It was her strong belief and faith in the world-class calibre and talent of Omani artists that led Ellen, a year ago, to showcase on an experimental basis the works of five Omani artists at the ArtParis International Art Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

“The results were absolutely amazing and the whole thing was a runaway success right from the word go. The international elite were curious and agog at what Oman and Bait Muzna had to offer. Once their curiosity was satisfied and appetites whetted, they just couldn’t stop coming back for more.”

She goes on to add: “At last year’s show, there were 35 artists from the West and 10 from the Middle East, including the Omani artists. I went for that show on my own and Bait Muzna handled the show without a single sponsor. But despite that, we did quite well and sold paintings worth thousands of dollars and more importantly, the Omani artists made a huge impact on the general public.”

Bait Muzna will be putting up a larger stall with more paintings and perhaps more Omani artists’ works at the ArtParis show in Abu Dhabi in November this year and the ArtDubai exhibition in March next year. “But we definitely need some big sponsors this time. You know it costs a lot of money to pack and ship the paintings from here to there. Then there’s the question of insurance for these paintings. Besides that, for the Omani artists who will be going to these exhibitions, we will have to make arrangements for their air tickets, hotel accommodation etc. So, sponsorship from big corporate houses would be a great help indeed.”

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Unique summer exhibition of Omani modern and contemporary art
Bait Muzna Gallery will display throughout the summer season (June 1 to October 1) a selection of modern and contemporary art work by Omani artists. This is to pursue the constant promotional work that Bait Muzna Gallery is undertaking for Omani artists. This will be a unique opportunity to view a wide selection of Omani modern and contemporary art over a period of four months under one roof. Ellen Molliet, Art Director, Bait Muzna Gallery, is going one step further in taking selected Omani artists to leading international art fairs such as Art Paris-Abu Dhabi and Art Dubai. "Exhibiting on our stand at Art Paris-Abu Dhabi will bring the artist immediately to international recognition" says Ellen Molliet.

Oman Observer, 9th Jun 2008

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With the arrival of the hottest season many of Muscat’s inhabitants flee for more clement climes, and this fact, combined with the dearth of tourists, means that the city’s cultural scene usually eases off until autumn. Happily, Bait Muzna is this year bucking the trend – its exhibition of paintings by Omani artists lasts for the duration of the summer.

Until October 1 the gallery will showcase works on a rotation basis (so that returning visitors have something new to look at) by artists including Anwar Sonya, Moosa Omar and Maryam al Zadjali (top), all well-known names in Muscat. Bait Muzna is the
only gallery in Oman to promote its artists internationally – later this year, in October, the art director, Ellen Molliet (below right), will attend Art Paris-Abu Dhabi, taking with her four Omani artists: Radhika Hamlai and Rasheed Abdulrahman (both pictured, right), and Hassan Meer and Saleh al Shukairi. Next year Ellen plans to exhibit at Art Dubai, too, and she also has two sales trips to Europe forthcoming. The summer exhibition is a good place to get a sneak preview of the sort of pictures Bait Muzna will show in Abu Dhabi – Saleh’s imaginative calligraphic creations, Hassan’s vibrant canvases and so on.
For details, call 24 739204.

Oman Today, July 2008

BAIT MUZNA GALLERY	f