Social issues in the 'Lighting Lamps' exhibition

The exhibition will run throughout January and February 2009.

The exhibition includes the work of prominent caricature artists from the Arab region. Armand Homsy (Lebanon), Aly Ferzat (Syria), Emad Hajjaj and Jalal El Rifai (Jordan), Amer Shomaly (Palestine), Mostafa Hussein (Egypt) and Yazid Alharthy (Saudi Arabia) all contributed drawings about the various social issues in their countries and according to Steve Bell, 'these drawings hold much more than what appears on the surface and therefore are considered 'Lighting Lamps'.

The caricatures were also exhibited at the Guardian newsroom in London for two weeks during July 2008 to great acclaim and significant public attendance demonstrating the interest there is in the culture of Arab artists.

The exhibition is part of a regional 'Media in Society' project, which was launched in 2004 and is supported by the British Council in partnership with the Guardian organisation and the international services branch of the BBC. It aims to build a network of media specialists across the six partner countries which are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Egypt in addition to the UK.

The project also aims to enhance the efficiency of journalists and media specialists and increase their awareness of contemporary social issues, in addition to creating a communication network connecting media specialists in Britain and the Arab region.