‘Out of Britain’art show opens

For the first time in Saudi Arabia the British Council will inaugurate an “Out of Britain” art exhibition in the presence of Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja and British Ambassador Sir Tom Phillips. “Out of Britain” is a collection of over 50 pieces by important 20th century British artists. The British Council is holding the exhibition in partnership with the General Commission of Tourism and Antiquities and the National Museum in Riyadh today at the National Museum. "Out of Britain" is supported by a full month-long program of public lectures and workshops led by UK arts specialists for artists and teachers as well as a nationwide online art competition. It will explore the theme of the British landscape, from the urban to the rural and the UK’s encircling coastline. The exhibition examines the ways artists have engaged with landscape and addressed timeless and fundamental questions about man’s place in the world. The work on display in the show will illustrate the attempts of individual artists to find their place amongst an ever-changing environment where they are often driven to challenge traditional ways of interpreting and framing the landscape. This exhibition has been planned as a direct result of an ongoing partnership between the National Museum and the British Council, both of whom have been active in the selection of the pieces of art. This is the first time that a selection of such valuable works by key 20th century British artists has been shown in Saudi Arabia. One of the key aims of the exhibition is to reaffirm the British Council’s position as a world leader in arts and cultural relations by introducing Saudi audiences to major works from one of the largest national collections of British contemporary art. The exhibition, its supporting program and the online competition are designed to help identify emerging Saudi artists who will be considered for a major new exhibition of contemporary Arab art being planned for London in 2014. “Out of Britain” and its associated activities are part of the British Council’s focus on supporting and developing contemporary British arts which allows audiences in Saudi Arabia to experience the power of the arts in developing cultural understanding, trust and dialogue.