160 artworks, 34 countries: RAK arts fest celebrates the world's communities

Sangeetha Swaroop 

Mar 17, 2020

The Fine Arts Festival in Ras Al Khaimah is abuzz with artists from around the world showcasing their works under the theme Connected Communities. Sangeetha Swaroop explores the emirate

 Ras Al Khaimah’s abandoned ‘ghost town’ comes alive

Some coloured strands are connected to a wooden platform in front of the suspended unravelled rug where they find themselves weaving around nails, signalling the (re)construction of a glorious past – but will it ever be the same again?

We are at the Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village, a 17th century fishing and pearling centre situated on the south-west coast of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. Dotted with a variety of compound houses ranging from simple mangrove beam-roofed buildings to ornate houses with courtyards that belonged to rich pearl merchants or traders, the Red Island, as it is more commonly known, was abandoned by its inhabitants in the early 1970s when they moved to the newly formed capital city, Abu Dhabi.

Today, the part of the town that has survived including its fort and traditional coral houses and mosque have largely been restored and forms a spectacular backdrop for the city’s annual Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival (RAK FAF). Currently in its eighth edition, the RAK Festival is largely seen as a champion of local talent, and serves as a platform for emerging and regional artists, photographers, and filmmakers who represent the community, and enrich our understanding of the world we live in.

This year, the festival celebrates ‘Connected Communities’ as its central theme as it seeks to explore the many ways people build relationships with others, their surrounding environments, and the natural world.

Sarajevo-born Selma Ćatović Hughes’ installation titled ‘Unravelled’ is thus an intimate look into the past, present, and future of her native Bosnia and the lives of its war-trapped citizens in the early 90’s. 

‘This project was inspired by my childhood experience of the war in Bosnia,’ explains the artist. ‘Living in Sarajevo under the siege, the unravelling of our lives had its own tempo, mostly beyond one’s control. Celebrating our heritage of carpet weaving, threads become voices of memory.

‘The process of weaving takes time, ritualistic order, repetition and predetermined idea of an outcome,’ she continues. ‘On the contrary, unravelling is undoing everything the long process of weaving had accomplished but at a much faster pace.

The 160 artworks from across 34 countries featured at the 2020 edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival are built around shared spaces and commonalities, implying the genuine connection amongst communities. ‘Yet, what does community mean to all of us?’ asks Caitrin Mullan, community engagement and outreach director at the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, which organises the event, as she leads us on a tour through the alleyways, open spaces and into the courtyards and rooms of the villas where the exhibits are displayed.

‘We found that our process and thinking behind the piece tied in with the ‘Connected Communities’ theme of the festival since it fostered a sense of community between the culturally diverse students, faculty and staff of the American University of Sharjah.’

Yet another work here that has seen the collaboration of many individuals is Aslam (Art) Noor’s ‘Sailing in the Same Boat’ that started out as a live painting project in Abu Dhabi on a four-part canvas measuring 4mx1.5m. Reinterpreting the natural shape of the UAE map as a large dhow, Noor docked it out into the sea on his vast canvas, had passengers of many nationalities climb on board with flags in hand, and dotted the coastline with both traditional and modern high rises.