The Saudi Society at Swansea University welcomes all Saudis or people who have lived in Saudi, and gives them a way to get to know each other and share their culture with the Swansea community. The society aims to enhance student experience through social interaction by hosting numerous events, such as the art exhibition.  Members of the society get together regularly to think of new ways to amplify Swansea University’s multicultural atmosphere.

Picture:  Saudi Society artists and members with the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan, Sian Impey, head of Swansea University International Development Office, and Kevin Child, head of Student Services

Maha Alshreif, involved with the society, commented on the event, saying:

“In their continuous efforts to build bridges among cultures, the Saudi Society in Swansea University and the Saudi Club hosted and organised “The Story of a Nation” art gallery in the presence of the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan, the Director of Student Services and the Head of the International Development Office at Swansea University.

The gallery represented Saudi legacy and vision through paintings, photographs and short films of 80 Saudi artists from different UK universities in collaboration with the Saudi Society in Reading University and others.

The event received media attention and was featured in newspapers in Saudi Arabia, including Alyaum, a well-known local newspaper in Saudi.”

Mohammed Hadia, International Officer at Swansea University, said:

“This was a great exhibition showing the Saudi culture from different angles through film, photography and painting by talented Saudi artists studying here in the UK. A massive thank you to the Saudi Society at Swansea University for organising this event and for their ongoing efforts to enhance the multicultural atmosphere we have in the university.

The Saudi Society has been very active this year organising many events targeting Swansea society to build bridges between both cultures. The International Development Office has been in close contact with the society throughout the year making sure they are getting all the support they need from the University to carry out their events and to deliver their message.”

Picture:  a striking artwork at the exhibition organised by the Saudi Society

Kevin Child, Director of Student Services, who was also involved with the event, said:

“It was a great pleasure to work with our Saudi Student Society and colleagues in Taliesin Create to bring this national exhibition of Saudi Student Art to the University and an honour to be invited to give the opening address.

The exhibition was simply breathtaking and quite eye-opening as it covered many topics of Saudi culture, from its vast, diverse and stunningly beautiful geography, its history and demographic groups, from desert tribes to the people of futuristic cityscapes of Riyadh and Jeddah.

Many forms of art were on display, ranging from photography, screen-printing, oil, acrylic, watercolour paintings, textiles to state of the art digital technologies.

It was fascinating to meet the artists, who were students of law, engineering and business, to discuss their motivations and the ideas they portrayed in their work.

Having spent most of my last 28 years working with students from Saudi and the Arabic world it was wonderful to learn new things about their fascinating culture.”

Take a look on the Swansea University Student Union website to find out more about the Saudi Society.