Art Jameel has two main institutions: Hayy Jameel, a dedicated complex for the arts and creativity in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Jameel Arts Centre, an innovative contemporary institution in Dubai, UAE. Art Jameel collaborates with major institutional partners, such as Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and a network of art practitioners across the world. In 2009, Art Jameel opened the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Cairo, a major teaching institution that preserves the heritage of traditional arts and crafts in Egypt.
In 2013, Art Jameel completed the construction of an open-air sculpture museum on the Corniche in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 26 modern and contemporary sculptures from across the city were first restored and then re-located.
40 years ago Jeddah mayor Mohamed Said Farsi transformed his city through an urban development scheme. He filled the city with public art on a grand scale, designed ‘to bring delight to the citizens, to give a sense of wonder and stir a sense of history’. Later the unprecedented urban landscape was enriched by a diversity of works from world-famous artists. As a result, this ancient city near Mecca is the home to one of the world’s most spectacular open-air modern sculpture museums. The collection includes world-famous artists Arp, César, Calder, Lipschitz, Miró, Moore, Pomodoro, and Vasarely, as well as regional artists including Salah Abdulkarim and Shafiq.
Since 1972 the city of Jeddah has grown and now some 53 major pieces are being restored and relocated to the sea front, known as the Corniche. It allows the world a unique glimpse into a city not easily visited and into a unique and beautiful open-air sculpture museum.
To learn more the park, please visit its official website or its web page on Art Jameel’s website.
You might also be interested in having a look at Jamal Habroush Al Suwaidi’s sculptures in DXB and Olafur Eliasson’s installation titled Shadows Travelling on the Sea of the Day.
