Tamkeen, Bahrain’s labour fund, has emphasized the importance of fostering the arts sector, one of the many promising sectors in the kingdom.
 
The ongoing support provided by Tamkeen to the sector is an assertion of the contribution and potential of arts and culture in what has become known globally as the “creative economy” or “creative industries”. From facilitating cultural exchange to growing the tourism industry, the sector has the potential to create new job opportunities and initiate art-based businesses to aid in economic diversification and more.
 
Sustainability of economic growth is strongly dependent on innovation, and the arts sector being a key springboard for innovation. Hence the sector represents one of the fields that can capture and galvanize creative energies within a cultural, social and developmental framework that helps build the creative and economic landscape, as well as opening up new channels of communication with external partners to introduce the local culture and arts as well as to facilitate exchange of new ideas and experiences and best practices.
 
A number of Bahraini artists commended Tamkeen’s support of the art initiatives, among them Taibah Faraj who said that she benefited immensely from Art Bahrain Across Borders (ArtBAB) Initiative.
 
"This initiative helped me not only reach a wider audience, but also personally grow as an artist because each international exhibition, whether held in a museum or an art gallery, is like a condensed art course of new knowledge and experiences. I am grateful to Tamkeen for their support and trust they have in us as international ambassadors of the Kingdom of Bahrain,” Faraj remarked.
 
Artist Faika Al-Hassan stated, “ArtBAB is a very important platform for Bahrain and its artists to highlight the Kingdom of Bahrain on the global stage. It also made it easy for artists to be present in exhibitions and countries where it would have been difficult otherwise.”
 
As part of its support of the art movement in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Tamkeen launched the ArtBAB initiative in 2016 to facilitate and enhance cooperation between Bahraini artists and renowned names in this sector, as well as support their participation in prestigious international exhibitions to promote exchange of experiences and enable them to sell their creative outputs.
 
To date, Bahraini artists have sold over BD605,000 ($1.6 million) worth of artworks with the help of the ArtBAB initiative. This includes the participation of 29 Bahraini artists in an exhibition held in London in 2016 which achieved total sales of BD50,000. 2017 saw a total of 37 artists participate in exhibitions in Moscow, India, England and Bahrain with total sales reaching in excess of BD105,000. This was followed in 2018 with 43 participations in India, Paris and Bahrain which achieved over BD148,000 in total sales.
 
In addition, Tamkeen conducts regular meetings and consultations with Bahraini artists and representatives of the art landscape in the Kingdom to discuss potential development opportunities to meet the growth targets of this sector and enhance its competitiveness internationally. – TradeArabia News Service