By Naam Alkhosi.
Tripoli, 15 June 2014:
Students and staff from Tripoli University’s Faculty of Arts and Media drew the city together with . . .[restrict]a special arts and media festival featuring events both on campus and in town. The festival concluded with the spectacular production of a panoramic print of the city of Tripoli that was eight metres long and 120 centimetres wide.
The print, entitled “My Capital”, was made using what is said to be the largest wooden printing block in the Arab world. It was completed in a collective effort of students and staff in front of a crowd in Martyrs’ Square. Volunteers from the Centre for Libyan Printmakers assisted in supervising the project.
The festival kicked of last week with speeches from the Minister of Higher Education, Mohamed Hassan Abu-Bakr, Minister of Culture Habib Al-Amin and the Dean of the University’s Faculty of Arts and Media, Abdulkarim Knder.
Over the course of three days visitors enjoyed a variety of plays, lectures, musical and dance performances as well as displays of ceramic sculptures, carvings, prints and paintings.
In the painting department, two students led visitors through a tour of pieces created on the theme of dreams for the future. Some of the artists present said they hoped they would one day achieve international renown.
Students said they were eager for more training and a wider range of course offerings.
“I look forward to the day when the faculty is able to offer more painting seminars and workshops,” said student Awnallaha Al-Shamily. “It will also be wonderful when the school is able to offer art supplies at reasonable prices. Art supplies stores’ prices are quite high.”
In the Sculpture department, visitors met Eman Iohida, a professor who had sculpted a face from recyclable materials.
“Through this piece of art, my aim was to express the importance of recycling, rather than wasting materials — that we can actually reuse discarded materials to create beauty,” said Iohida.
Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Media Abdul Hakim Maki said: “Both students and professors from the Faculty of Arts and Media worked long hours, sometimes into the night, to ensure that the festival would be a success” . [/restrict]
