Heather Layton

In December 2019, I had the great fortune of traveling to Saudi Arabia as a teaching artist and citizen diplomat by the invitation of the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah. The purpose for my visit was to build bridges between Saudi and American artists. Throughout the course of my stay, I conducted artist workshops, visited the students and exhibition receptions of Saudi artists and gave a combined talk with Sahara al Matrook, the first female artist in Saudi Arabia to have a solo exhibition and attend an arts university outside of the country. Of all of the travels I have taken, I must admit that I was most nervous about this one. As has been the case in previous exchanges, I had nothing to worry about at all. Humans are humans everywhere and artists share a bond across language gaps. The women I met were powerful, funny, curious, insightful and welcoming. They have further strengthened my belief that many problems in the world would be solved by increasing opportunities for face-to-face interactions around shared interests.

.Musaed Alhulis was one of the artists I met during my visit. He is the Founder and Director of the Tasami Creative Art Lab in Jeddah in addition to being an alum of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, where I first met him. His paintings are inspired by real and imagined languages.

Ghada Al Rabea is another example of an inspiring artist I met during my visit. She creates new interpretations of paintings in the Western art canon by making them with candy wrappers and cloaking the figures in traditional Saudi attire. When I asked her what message she would like me to bring back to the United States, she stated (a bit paraphrased), “Please tell them that no one is forcing me to wear a burka. This is MY choice. My husband is 100% supportive of my choice and he is the momentum behind my chosen career. I have never had to think about how others are viewing my body. They look into my eyes and listen to what I say.”

When the Consulate’s plans to host additional American artists came to an abrupt halt do to the pandemic, I returned virtually to give two public artist talks and an online art workshop. In the latest form of this exchange, representatives at the Consulate and I co-organized an online exhibition with 8 Saudi and 8 American artists.