Distinctive seminar discusses history of photography in the Gulf region

Titled "The History of Photography and Contemporary Photography in the Gulf Region", the seminar explored the origins, the role of pioneers and development of the art of photography in the region.

The seminar lecture was led by accomplished Emirati photographer and Lecturer of Photography at the University of Sharjah, Jasem Al Awadi.

The event is the second in a series of seminars being held on the sidelines of 'To The Holy Lands', an exhibition of the world's greatest historical photographs of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

The series is a perfect complement to the exhibition, which displays the works of the pioneers of photography in the Arab world - Al-Sayyid Abd al-Ghaffar, Christiaan Snouck-Hurgronje and Jakob Lorent.

The seminars are being organised in partnership with Art Dubai and the support of Epson and Adobe.

"The origin of photography in the Gulf region is fascinating as it was fraught with great difficulties and required extraordinary courage and persistence from its practitioners," said Jasem Al Awadi.

"The experience of photography today, in many ways, owes itself to the exceptional work done by the pioneers. Contemporary photography in the region shares much more with this history than is often acknowledged. Understanding how photography developed in the region will considerably enhance our appreciation of this art," he pointed out.

The third and last seminar in this series titled 'How to Run an Exhibition: Art Management' was held on the 28th of October.

Each of the three discussion seminars were followed by screenings of documentaries on Mecca.

The films screened included 'Pilgrimage to Mecca', made in 1967 by Safouh Al Naamani, and 'Inside Mecca', a National Geographic film.