Maldives through the eyes of the artist

A potpourri of work from different exhibitions held this year such as Maldives Contemporary 2009, Whimsical Poetry and Jaisalmer Yellow, is on display. This makes for an interesting display of Maldivian life in a variety of styles. Samah Ahmed’s oil painting from the Blue series transported me back to my childhood when I would float down to the bottom of a lagoon and look up at the shimmering blue waters above.

“We want to show that visual culture and tourism is very much related like the souvenir industry,” says Mamduh Waheed, deputy minister of tourism, arts and culture, explaining why the art exhibition has been included among the activities to mark World Tourism Day. “There is a huge potential for this. We also want to explore the idea of how identities are formed through images and craft.”

Mamduh believes that this is an “opaque” segment within the tourism industry at the moment. “We are not only talking about art, as in fine arts and painting, we would also like to encourage more Maldivians to take up other fields, like crafts and performing arts,” he says.