Nov/Decnew

sle-

er elhambahrain.net

AnnaThackray©

Contents

 UpFront………………………………3 MovieNightReview..………....5 2ndMusicJam.…………….……...6 FilmmakersChallenge….……..7 ComingUp/News…….….……..8 ArFstsMeet.……………………...9 FortheDiary…..…………………10 16thMonthlyGathering…..…11 ArtinFocus..……………………..13 WriteOn……………………………20 Ourpartners/credits………….23

UP FRONT…

Year2008hasshownBahrainquiteadecentbitofacDononall fronDers...andhasequallygracedElhamwithamarveloftalents,andwhatculturalgrowthwearecapableof.DecemberistheDmeofyearwherewecleanoutourclosets,reflectonwhatwasachievedthelast12months,andwhatwasleKbehind.Sowepullupoursleeves,exhaleindesperaDonandhope,andgetreadytojotdownourresoluDonsfortheyeartocome.Whattodo?Whattodo?Mostofuswishedweexercisedmore,someofuswanttorisetobe-erposiDons in our careers, otherswant to start one, and quite a few of uswishedwewould travelmorestarDng2009...

WellwhynotletElhamsuggestonenewresoluDontoyou?LetartbeyourresoluDon.Letcolorsfillyourlife.Letmusictakeyoutoalltheplacesyouwishtogo!Artandculture,webelieve,isthesoulinourlives,thefrosDngonourdays,acomfypillowforourthoughts...Butwhywaitfor2009tobegin?Startnow,starttoday!JoinusonourupcomingeventonDecember19th,attheCocoonLounge,foranopenJamofJazzFusions. Yes! Yes! Everyone must come, Anyone can join! Do you play the trumpet, guitar, the drumsmaybe....?HaveyouseenaSaxophoneplayerupcloseandpersonal?WhetheryouanswerYESorNO,theJazzJamissDllforyou...Keepreadingtofindoutwhy...

AlsointhisissueofElham’sNewsLe-erwecoverwhatwentonto the screens in our last gathering of Elhamywood. Amovieandpopcornnightset inAlBarehGalleryshoweduswhat local talents we have in Bahrain, and therewewerethinkingmovies only came from Hollywood! AKer a sneakpeakintowhat’sjammingdownatCocoonthismonth,we’lltellyouallaboutthisunmissableopportunityforallyoufilmmakers. You’ll have to joinus at Elhamnextmonth, to seewhereyoucango,orinfact,whereyourfilmcantakeyou!

Now for all the rest of you arDsts, we have an up andsplashing treat for you as well! Join us at Elham and seewhether your art, be it in color,word,music, or any form,will take you to Melbourne Australia next year... Yes yesAustralia,allthedetailsarewaiDngforyoubelow.WethenbreakintoArtinFocus(someartsandstuff),beforewelookat what else is going on this “final month” on the island.Finally,weareentertainedtherestofthewaybyReena...

You’ll seewhatwemean. So readon, and remember...ArtandCultureAREadefiniteresoluDon!

On the chilled evening of November 30th 2008, Elhamlaunched the first gathering dedicated to the screens. AroundupoflocalfilmmakersfeaturedinAlBarehGallery,takingustoLondonandIndia,onlytobringusbackheretotheBahrainweknow.Atouchofmusicalsointroducedto us Mohammed Al Amri, an Omani oud player, whoplayed his original notes to the crowd, while the breezecarriedhissincerevoicetousall.Now,themovieroundupstarted with Bahraini Hussain Al Riffaie, with a tragicdinner.

“The Dinner” ends the story of a Bahraini womanwhofaces hardship in the face of society, whereby theconsequences of her mistakes haunt her to misery anddespair. Next upwas Saleh Nass’s “The Body” a comicalmurdermysterysolvedaKercontradicDngaccountsbyallwitnesses.

The Movie Night That Was!

The third movie, by Bahraini director Mohammed Buali is a nostalgic piece, set in early Bahraini capturingmomentslostforanoldBahrainicouple.Finally,thenightwasconcludedwithAnishVarghese,withanepicvisualjourney through the eyes of 9 year old Karan as he traveled across india. As we broke between movies andpopcorn entertainment, Video Jockey Praveen Venugopal showcased his visual and music mixes on screen,illuminaDngthemomentsinbetween.All inall itwasabeauDfulevening,introducingtousElhamersthewinternights,aswesatoutsidecurledupinthoughtandinspiraDon.Wehopeformanymoremoviemakerstoapproachus,andhelpuscreateyetanotherElhamywoodevening.

Elham 2nd Music Jam Night 19th / 12/ 08!“A night of live music and jazz @ Cocoon Lounge”

Fawaz Alolaiwat ©

NowbacktothoseNewYear’sResoluDons...OnDecember19th,thisupandcomingFriday,ElhamjumpsintothefesDveseasonwithanopenJamtofarewell2008.Allofusmusicians,musiclovers,andcuriouscatsaremeeDngup inCocoonLoungeat8pm,towatchaJazzfusioncometo life.Theonlythingontheagenda:aBlast of Jazz in any, all, and no direcDon (as Jazz ought to be)! Local talents, professionals, enthusiasts,amateurswilltakethestagetogetherandjamthroughthenightinthespiritofJazz,likethere’snotomorrow...Infact,likethere’sno2009!Webringtogetherpianists,guitarists,drummers,saxophoneplayers,theworkstofinetuneandwarmuptheyear'send.Thisisthe2ndElhamMusicJamNightfollowingthesuccessofthefirstversionoftheeventlastDecember.ThemusicnighthasbecomeahighlightontheElhamyearlycalendar,anexciDngpart of our various satellite events.Of course, Cocoon Lounge, tohost us for the secondDme thisseasonisaperfectlystagedvenue,dimandcasual,classyyetfunky‐befilngforElham,andPerfectforanyJazzRecipe.Whatawaytoendtheyear,whatawaytostartoveragain!

(Pleasebeadvised:TheeventholdsacoverchargeofBD3.For18+only)

ThetracklisFng: 1.Mourn 2.LonelyThroughTheCrowd3.PaintMeAHeart 4.Rebellion 5.Atonement

By creaDng and submilngdemocracy‐themed videos for the online compeDDon, Challenge contestants canhavetheirworkrecognizedgloballyandcompeteforaU.S.‐basedtravelprize.ChallengeEntrantswillsubmittheirvideostotheChallenge'scontestsiteatYouTube.VideosthatmeetChallengeguidelineswillbepostedontheChallenge'sYouTubepageatwww.youtube.com/democracyvideochallenge

ThewinningvideosfromwillbescreenedatagalaeventhostedbytheMoDonPictureAssociaDonofAmerica(September2009).InaddiDon,thesixregionalwinners(NearEast,NorthAfrica,SouthAsiaetc)willreceiveanall‐expensepaidtriptotheUnitedStates‐‐Washington,NewYorkandLosAngeles.

ParDcipantsshouldbe18+.

December 27th: Filmmakers Video Challenge Meet!

Filmmakers will learn all about an exciDng opportunity to enter avideocompeDDon,ataspecialpresentaDonfor localfilmmakersonDecember27thatAlbarehCafé.

The talk will be presented by US Embassy Public Affairs OfficerRachel,from10.30am.TheDemocracyVideoChallengeisiniDatedbytheDepartmentofState.Theideaistoengagedemocracyadvocates,filmmakers, and ciDzens from around the world in a dialogue ondemocracy.

Coming Up/news!

Dec21th:JamalA.Rahim

OneofBahrain’swellknowncontemporaryarDstsJamalAbdulRahimwill exhibit his latestworkatthe Bahrain Arts Society from December 21st at6pm. The exhibiDon, enDtled “Print & Stone”,whichrunsunDlJanuary5th,isheldinthehonourof Bahraini establ ished novel ist FareedRamadhan. An excellent opportunity to have acloserlookatoneofthiscountry’spopulararDsts.

A tasty discount for !Elham members!

For those with an arty appeDte, there's perhaps nobe-er place on the island for a lightmeal or coffeethanthelovelyart‐adornedAlbarehCafénextdoortothe gallery. And now there's an irresisDble addedincenDvetovisit.UnDltheendofNovember,AlbarehCaféisofferingElhammembersa15%discountonall*meals. There's also theopDon to se-leat amosaictableonthebreezyterrace,whichisdefinitelywhereyou'll find us at this Dme of year. To qualify for thediscount, simply menDon that you'd like to takeadvantage of the Elham Autumn offer*. AlbarehGallery is in Adliya, close to the Carlton Hotel. Thegalleryisopenfrom10am‐1pmand4‐8pm;thecafeis open from 8.30am (for a tasty Arabic breakfast,amongotherthings)Dll11pm.Seewww.albareh.com.

(*Theofferdoesnotincludebeverages.)

7th January: Artists Meet @Albareh !

BahrainiarDstshaveanopportunitytobepartofanexciDngproject thataimsathighlighDngart fromtheregionand introducing it toawideraudience,whilepromoDngunderstandingbetweenArabandWesternculture.The project, conducted by theMetaSenta, as part of the RMIT inMelbourne, Australia,will see agroupofBahrainiarDsts,bothmenandwomen,andfromdifferentstagesintheirartcareer,selectedtotakepartinabiennaletobeheldnextyearinBrisbane.“AcrosstheGulf–Breathingnow”isacollaboraDveprojectinvolving three Arab regions ‐ Dubai, Bahrain and Abudabi. In this project we will be focusing on theintersecDons between the Arab culture and theWestern culture, where we invesDgate arDsDc responsestowardsthisintervenDonatthisperiodofDme.AcrossthegulfisaplatformwhichallowsforbothmaleandfemalearDsDcvoicestospeakonthe intervenDonof thewest inthegulf region.Tobeconsideredforthisproject,pleasesubmit:‐ ACDwith5Jpegsofrecent“contemporary”works‐ ‐ArDststatementandwhereyourhaveexhibited‐ ‐IncludeName,EmailandPhonenumber.

OnJanuary7th,aspecialArDsttalkwillbeheldatAlbarehArtgallery,duringwhichan introducDontotheWorkshops,TheBrisbaneBiennale, andanoverviewofthespeakingArDst’sworkwillbeheld.Thesessionwill endwith a quesDon and answer Dme. The speaking arDsts are Dr. Irene Barberis, KeithWinters andMariamHajiJanahi.January6thisthedeadlineforsubmilngyourapplicaDonforconsideraDon.MetaSentaisavital,compactartsresearchhub,whichfuncDonsinternaDonallybetweenUniversiDesandthewiderArtsand Business CommuniDes. It does this by linking, networking and iniDaDng high quality and influenDalinternaDonal art research projects, which have high impact outcomes, in an interdisciplinary context.(www.metasenta.com.au)

Dates to remember….!

Date Event Venue

December19th 2ndMusicJamNight CocoonLounge

December21st “Print&Stone”–JamalA.RahimartexhibiDon

BahrainArtsSociety

December27th Filmmakerstalk/meet AlbarehCafe

January7th ArDstsmeetw/Metasenta AlbarehCafe

January17th 1stCreaDveTrip AldarIsland

January27th 16thMonthlyGathering AlbarehArtGallery

Moreeventsandprojectswillbeannouncedshortly.Forregularupdates,visitourwebsite atwww.elhambahrain.net, and if you'renot yet onourmailinglist,sendyourfullname,telephonenumberandareaofarDsDcinteresttousatelhambahrain@yahoo.com.We'dalsoliketohearfromyouifyou'dliketopresentyourworkatafutureElhamevent.

FromthesoundsofclassicIndianrhythmus,totheexpressiveartworksofpainDngs,cartoons,andcraKedwords.Elham;thecreaDve,dynamicartgroup,bringsyou its16thmonthlygathering.Awardwinningauthor,ReenaAbraham,willreadfromherbook “Footprints in Time”, documenDng the story of the Indian community inBahrain and emphasizing the associaDon of the two countries. While Indianmusician/singer Padmini Raowill present a blend of two of India’smost charmingmusicalstreams,thedhrupadandthekhayal.

AnothermovingexperiencewillbepresentedattheeventbyAnnaThackray,aSouthAfrican painter, known for her powerful vivid artworks.Working as a professionalarDst inthekingdomofBahrainhad influencedherprofessionalwork.Theeveningwillalso featurean impressiveyoungBahrainicartoonist,19‐yeard‐oldMohammedAlMahdi who will introduce his cartoons and perform a live cartoon show at theevent.ElhambalancesJanuaryscoldnesswithahoteveningofcreaDveinspiringartshows.Theeveningtakesplaceat7.00P.M.atAlbarahCafé,Adliya.

InthisissuewebringyouaselecDonofAnna’sfabulousartwork,seeingintheArtinFoussecDon(page13)aswellasanexclusiveintroducDonbyReenaonherbookandexperienceinwriDngit,aswellasanexcerptontheWriteOnsecDon(page19).

16th Monthly Gathering 27th / 1/ 09!“ElhamCombinesHistory,MusicandColors@AlbarehArtGallery”

AnnaThackray©

Art in Focus!

AnnaThackray©

AnnaThackray©

Insight/Outside: 2nd PDO!

Following up on our successful 2ndPhotographers’ Day Out held lastmonth, we bring you anotherse lecDon of images f rom theparDcipaDonphotographers.

Our event magazine partner Ohlala!Arabia ran an extensive coverage ofthe event in it’s November issue andwillpublishtheeditors’selecDonfromall the photos submi-ed by theparDcipants in a special photographicfeature in the December issue. Sokeepaneyeoutforthat.

KhalidKhazal©

RoselyneBrault©

FannyRebours©

Write On!Ineverynewsle-ergoingforward,we'dliketoincludeapoemorshortpieceofprosewri-enbyamember.Thismonth,wefeatureanintroducDonfromauthorReenaAbrahamabouthernewbookFootprintsinTime,alongwithanexcerpt.

”RelivingFootprintsinTime"byReenaAbraham

InNovember2006, Iwasapproachedwiththe ideaofdoingabookabouttheIndiansinBahrain.ThesubjectwasexciDng tomebecause it seemed tailor‐made forchallenge. There was hardly any record, almost nodocumentaDon, many of the protagonists were nolonger living, but yet everyone knew the history waslong and certainly important. This was the challenge,and this eventuallymade this book a deeply personaljourneyintothestoriesofmanybraveandcourageousindividualsandfamilieswholiveinBahraineventoday.At Dmes, the stories I heard moved me beyondmeasure, and I have tried to insDll that feeling andemoDonintomywords.Onanotherlevel,Ihavecometounderstandandappreciatemanythingsaboutlifeasa foreign expatriate. The words are a much‐used,bandied around term,butwhen you goback into thehistory, especiallyof the Indianexpatriate, you realizeallthatthetermencompasses.

You realize the sacrifice, the commitment, the visionandspiritofadventurethathavegonebefore.Itseemsamazing today, in view of the tensions that threatenour global society, the contradicDons that beg foranswers, the lack of understanding and compassionbetweenraces,cultures,religions,thathereinBahrainwe have an example of a relaDonship rooted intolerance and empathy, which no one can deny haswithstood the test of Dme. It quite literally goes toshowthatdifferencesdonotma-er,whenthespiritisgenerous.ThepeopleofBahrainhavethroughyearsofhospitalityandtoleranceandanappreciaDonofothers’contribuDon,madethiscountryauniqueone.ThefirstIndiantradersandtravelersfoundthisspiritwhentheylanded on an unknown island country. It is this thatmadethemstayonhere,adopDngBahrainasahome.It is the same spirit that conDnues todraw Indians tothiscountry.

.

It is sDll unknownwhen thefirst linksbetween IndiaandBahrainwereestablished.Archaeological evidencegoesbackintothesecondmillenniumBC,butthereisnoconclusiveindicaDonthatthisiswhenitbegan.Forthe Indian and Mesopotamian traders, Bahrain was a halDng point, where they refreshed themselves andpreparedforthearduousjourneysDlllyingahead.Oman,inthesouth,wasalreadyatradinghub,lyingasitdidon the Spice route, trading in its rich harvest of frankincense, but Bahrain lying further north and closer toMesopotamiawas at firstmore valuable as a strategic break point during the long journey. Its geographicalposiDonwasreinforcedbyitsnaturalfeatures–artesianspringsinthecoastalareas,adeepbeltofcerealanddateculDvaDon,naturalharbours–allofthisensuredthatwearysailorsusingthesearoutebetweenIndiaandMesopotamiainevitablystoppedatBahrain…Part1,pg15,FootprintsinTime©…Thenewspiritspreadlikewild‐fire.Events inBahrainandIndiasimultaneouslystokedtheflamesthatwereburning in the Indian heart. On the one hand, prosperity and growth beckoned from Bahrain’s oil‐enrichedeconomy,andontheother,thesenseofanewchapterculminaDngfromthepainfulyetsuccessfulbirthoftheIndian Republic. It brought forth a burst of adrenaline like no other. Business opportuniDes abounded, andthose enterprising enoughwere ready andwaiDng. It was into such an atmosphere that the new breed ofIndians entered into Bahrain. All had skills of some sort to offer, and those already here began thinking ofinnovaDvewaystoestablishandentrenchthemselvesfurther.Part4,pg108,FootprintsinTime©

InanutshellonecouldsaythatwhileFootprintsinTimeisacelebraDonofthesoulandindomitablecharacteroftheIndian,itisalsoacelebraDonofrelaDonships,ofthetriumphofhumanbrotherhood.Excerpt:!

Footprints in Time: The Story of Indians in Bahrain. Author: Reena Abraham, Publishers: Miracle Publishing The author can be contacted at reena.at.work@gmail.com The book is available at all leading bookstores in Bahrain. For more information contact the publishers at: +973 17 295502

Credits

WriXenbyFaFmaAlSaad&AliAlSaeed

EditedbyRoshelleCharloXeFernandez

Design/layoutbyAliAlSaeed

PhotographerFardanRaffii

Emailusatelhambahrain@yahoo.comWebsitewww.elhambahrain.netFindusonFacebook!

All rightsreserved.Pleasedonotreproduceoruseanyofthecontentwithoutpermission.

AliAlSaeed©

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About Elham…!

Elham provides a monthly forum forarFsFcally minded people, and givesboth expat and Bahraini arFststraversing the creaFve spectrum apladorm to showcase their work. InaddiFontomonthlysessionsatgalleriesandcafés,therearesatelliteeventssuchas jamming evenings, photographers’daysoutandvariousworkshops.