Muscat: Twenty artists from around the world are participating in the Raneen contemporary art event, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth (MCSY) in its first edition, which will take place between November 21 and 30 in the historic town of Muttrah in the capital.
Thirteen local artists, seven international artists, and eight solo musicians will perform at three venues for ten days.
Sayyid Saeed al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, said, "The Sultanate of Oman has a distinguished and rich record in art events and exhibitions, and the events at Muttrah also include important contemporary art exhibitions and artists' studios. The ministry takes pride in continuing to highlight these connections through (Raneen), preserving our intangible cultural heritage, and embracing local and international artists."
The Raneen event aims to have a contemporary interpretation of the architectural heritage, reflect the unique character of the city and its importance in Oman, and revive the sites in the Wilayat of Muttrah through visual and audio.
The artists are
Ammar Al Kiyumi (Oman), Azra Ak§amija (Austria-United States), Bashair al Balushi (Oman), Clive Gracey (UK-Oman), Elina Brotherus (Finland), Haitham al Busafi (Oman), Huria al Harrasi (Oman), Israa Mahmood al Balushi (Oman), John Rea (UK), Khadija al Maamari (Oman), Laurenz Theinert (Germany), Luke Jerram (UK), Marwa al Bahrani (Oman), Mahmood al Zadjali (Oman), Makan Studio (Oman), Moath alofi (Saudi Arabia), Radhika Khimji (Oman), Ruciaiya Mazar (Oman), HH Sayyida Tania al Said (Oman), Seif Kousmate (Morocco) and Tariq al Hajri (Oman).
Some profiles:
British artist Luke Jerrams’ 'Museum of the Moon’ is coming to Raneen. Jerram is distinguished by his artwork around the world with a range of work including sculptures and installations.
At the heart of this cultural exchange will be a musical collaboration with Omani Oud player Amal Waciar. The immersive, multi-speaker outcome is a site-specific response to Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon to be presented at the Bait AlKhonji house in the center of historic Mutrah.
Radhika Khimji: An artist whose work defies easy categorization, embracing sculpture, painting, print, and performance, Radhika Khimji lives between Muscat and London.
She was one of the artists included in the first National Pavilion of Oman at the 59th Venice Biennale, Venice, 2022.
For Raneen, Radhika has developed an interactive public artwork in the form of brightly colored 'bleacher' boxes, a modular system that can be flexibly assembled in different configurations to provide seating and gathering places for visitors to play, be creative, and enjoy the artwork and performances. Participants will be invited to modify the boxes by applying their designs and embellishments, so the colors and patterns will evolve throughout the event.
Elina Brotherus is one of the most recognized contemporary artists from Scandinavia. Brotherus’ art has been alternating between autobiographical and art historical approaches.
Brotherus' art has been alternating between autobiographical and art historical approaches. Her early series on subjective experiences gave way to works deal-
ing with the human figure and the landscape, the relation of the artist and the model. In her current practice, she is revisiting
Fluxus event scores and other written instructions for performance-oriented art of the 1950s-70s. Another recent theme is architecture: Brotherus photographs in private houses designed by important architects, taking roles of various imagined characters. Her tranquil presence breathes life into these iconic spaces of architectural heritage
Muath al Oufi dedicates his life to exploration and artistic work, with his camera accompanying him on his journeys. From Saudi Arabia, our participating artist
German musician Lawrence Theinert, will turn the streets of #Muttrah in Raneen into vibrant musical pieces alive with color.
His "visual piano" performances are shown all over the world from Sao Paulo, London, Sydney, and Berlin to New York and Singapore.
He creates media light spaces with 360° panoramic projections. This creates abstract, live environments. The expansion of the projection into 360° allows him to expand the visual experience of the audience into three dimensions. To interact spontaneously with other participating artists (musicians and dancers) he has invented the worldwide unique instrument "visual piano" in collaboration with Philipp Rahlenbeck. Live and in real-time, he uses a MIDI keyboard to create graphic structures that are projected to fill the performance space.
Clive Gracey lived in Oman for 30 years. Gracey shares with us photographs of abandoned homes in Mutrah and other areas in Oman.
He has lived in the Sultanate of Oman for more than thirty years, during which time he has devoted much effort to record various elements of the
country's rich architectural, cultural, and environmental heritage.
In a series of ten large images, Clive Gracey presents forgotten and abandoned interiors of houses in Mutrah and other locations in Oman. The images offer a glimpse into
the lives of the people who inhabited these spaces, and evoke strong memories of different eras and a lost way of life.
Bashaer Faqir participates in Raneen with her artwork titled “Childhood Home”
She is an interior designer, furniture designer, photographer & artist born in Muscat in 1991. He is interested in Omani folklore & art, as well as modern Omani architecture & the Renaissance in Oman.
Composer and sound artist John Rea has been commissioned to create a new site-specific sound & music work for Raneen. A composer and sound artist based in Cardiff, Wales. His work is deeply rooted in Welsh culture and landscape and cross-cultural connections and collaborations.
His interest is in responding to place, and community, and in exploring new interdisciplinary approaches. He has worked as a freelance composer for concert platforms, theatre, and film, whilst also pursuing his interests in sound.
Architect Ammar Al-Kiyumi, participating with his distinct architectural style: An award-winning architect and one of Oman's emerging artists who enjoys exploring themes related to the identity of places and people. His most prominent work is the designing Oman Pavilion for Expo 2025. His latest work revolves around the repetitiveness of the built environment, the artist searched for individuality and personality in the mundane surroundings. His lens was focused on capturing the various manifestations of marginalization in Africa
Photographer Saif Kousmati will participate in the photographic series 'Waha’ which translates a four-year journey about oases and the changes they face. In Morocco, Seif's work revolved around Boujloud celebrations and documented the lives in the Atlas Mountains facing climate change He is currently working on his series "Waha al 19" and his first monograph, a four-year essay on the oases and the changes they are facing His lens was focused on capturing the various manifestations of marginalization in Africa.
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