VZCZCXRO9220
RR RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #1412 2981342
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251342Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1770
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS RIYADH 001412 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL KPAO KWMN OEXC SA XF ZP ZR
SUBJECT: Mixed Gender Audience Flocks to American Art Opening 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  American artist Laurie Goddard visited Saudi Arabia October 3 - 
October 10, conducting workshops with art students and putting on 
exhibitions of her paintings in Dhahran, Jeddah and Riyadh.  The 
opening in Riyadh of a show of her work prompted a rare -- for Saudi 
Arabia -- mixed-gender public event.  This opening, at Riyadh's 
leading art gallery, also drew extensive media coverage.  The 
Embassy and the Ministry of Culture and Information co-sponsored the 
event, and the Ambassador and Deputy Minister of Culture and 
Information Dr. Abu Bakr Bagader inaugurated the exhibit.  The art 
students who attended Ms. Goddard's workshops were grateful for the 
experience and enthusiastic about what they learned.  The workshops 
conducted at Princess Noura University in Riyadh provided post with 
the opportunity to forge new links with the university community. 
End Summary. 
 
Laurie Goddard and Artists Abroad/ART in Embassies 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  American abstract expressionist painter Laurie Mason Goddard 
visited Saudi Arabia October 3 through October 10 under the auspices 
of the American Artists Abroad part of the ART in Embassies program. 
 Her program included workshops and exhibitions in Dhahran, Jeddah, 
and Riyadh. 
 
Art Students' Enthusiasm about Workshops 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Ms. Goddard's workshops, with female Saudi art students in 
particular, proved remarkably successful, as aspiring Saudi artists 
proved keenly eager to discuss both the technical aspects of 
painting and the role artists play in society.  For example, EmbOffs 
and Ms. Goddard were bowled over by the enthusiasm and thirst for 
knowledge of the workshop participants at Princess Noura University. 
 The ten fine arts students who participated in Ms. Goddard's 
hands-on workshop practically demanded that additional workshop time 
be programmed -- and the sessions were extended.  Though taken aback 
by the students' lack of exposure to Western art -- particularly 
figure painting and modern painting -- Ms. Goddard was impressed by 
the students' talent and desire to broaden their horizons.  At the 
end of the workshops' last session, one of the participants said to 
EmbOffs that she felt "...free, like I am flying.  I know now how to 
express myself in a new way." 
 
New Outreach to Academic Community 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Ms. Goddard's workshops also provided the opportunity for post 
to broaden its outreach to the Saudi academic community.  At 
Princess Noura University, EmbOffs met with a delegation of faculty 
members who underlined their interest in working with the Embassy to 
generate educational programming and get help linking up with U.S. 
universities potentially interested in partnering relationships with 
Princess Noura University.  Note: The Princess Noura bint 
Abdulrahman University in Riyadh opened in October 2008; the school 
is a public, women-only institution with a projected capacity of 
40,000 students.  End Note. 
 
Mixed Gender Art Opening Unusual 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Ms. Goddard's visit to Saudi Arabia ended with a strikingly 
successful exhibition of her paintings at Riyadh's leading private 
art gallery, the Hewar Art Gallery.  The exhibition, co-sponsored by 
the Embassy and the Ministry of Culture and Information, was 
inaugurated by the Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Culture and 
Information Dr. Abu Baker Bagader.  The event received an 
extraordinary amount of media coverage; over a dozen reporters and a 
handful of camera crews covered the event, including representatives 
from Saudi TV-1, the newspaper Al-Jazira, and the women's magazine 
Sayyidaty.  Most striking however, nearly half of the 100 of so 
guests who attended were women, and all the guests mixed easily.