The history of art education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffers from a lack of documentation of its stages, and a lack of recording of the cultural and social scene in which it emerged from its inception. Many historians of Saudi history believe that oral history was more relied on than written history, because there was no support from official bodies or institutions to do so (Abdulaziz Al-Khader, 2010). At the level of the artistic scene in particular, serious written references to the history of Saudi fine art, which included the history of arts education, began in the year 2000 AD, that is, nearly 55 years after the start of formal artistic education in the country.
Many pioneering artists, researchers, and contemporary art historians believe that the actual beginning of the arts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occurred after 1945 AD. This was when art education was adopted as a basic subject in public education. Since then, in 1953 AD, the Ministry of Education represented the first interest of official institutions in visual art. In the 1970s, the Saudi art scene witnessed another beginning, which was the interest of private institutions owned by visual artists in teaching arts. This interest was different in its dimensions from the official interest, in terms of providing modern curricula, the target audience, and the availability of human and artistic capabilities. In the same historical period, arts education in public schools continued until recently to teach simple and limited types of arts, all of which were disconnected from the theories and schools of arts education in the world at that time, which were witnessing a noticeable movement, especially in North American and European schools. What I am discussing in this paper is an attempt to investigate the state of the arts and its education before official accreditation, and then continue to monitor that growth and shift in interest in teaching the arts in Saudi history from governmental to non-governmental institutions, and then measure the impact of this on the visual arts in the country. This monitoring will reveal to us that at a certain moment in history, a directed shift took place in this focus or artistic growth that made visual art cut off from formal education after it emerged from it, and thus far from the interest and encouragement of society. We will also notice that the results of these transformations were mostly negative. Where the development of arts education curricula and methods in public schools was deliberately marginalized, this was generally reflected in societal culture and its vision of the arts, of art teachers, and of art curricula.
The Historical Period Before 1945 AD:
Going back to a number of Saudi artistic works that appeared in the historical period from the founding of the Saudi state until the official recognition of the arts as a subject in public education, that is, in the time period between 1932 AD and 1945 AD, we find that there was a weakness in pictorial blogging in general, and a lack of paintings or artistic works that dealt with political and social events or even expressive photography of the self and its existential concerns. While on the other hand, we will find a boom in interest in Arabic calligraphy and its schools, which was a result of the interest in writing down the Holy Qur’an in the Ottoman era before that. The first documented experience in this historical period was in the holy city of Mecca, where the subject of drawing was taught in the Al-Arfiyya School in 1908 AD, which was founded by Muhammad Hussein Al-Khayyat, and the arts curricula in this school were based solely on transferring and imitating pre-determined designs (copying). Historical documents provide us with this information. In 1912 AD, the Al-Falah School in Jeddah taught Arabic calligraphy of all types and arts as artistic subjects with an aesthetic dimension. This school was opened by Zainal Ali Reda. In 1937 AD, the Al-Amiriya School in Al-Ahsa also taught Arabic calligraphy and arts as artistic subjects. The primary reliance in teaching art at these schools was on the inkwell and the quill (Al-Sulaiman, 2000 AD). After the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, this limited teaching of the arts continued. Arabic calligraphy was taught systematically as a primary subject taught by a teacher who was not specialized in calligraphy, where the curriculum was transformed into learning only how to copy calligraphy and not learning its arts. In the same period, drawing began to be taught more generally in schools as a non-mandatory activity, public schools were provided with an annual plan with educational objectives to be applied in secondary schools once a week (Al-Sulaiman, 2000).
The history of art education in the Arabian Peninsula during that historical period raises some questions. We wonder about the sources and manner by which artistic products were produced. This curiosity stems from the presence of drawings in the sitting rooms of old houses. We also see artistic designs studied on Sadu textiles, as well as Al-Qatt Al-Asiri decorations and others. However, there is a noticeable absence of artistic paintings, which were at the height of their popularity in Europe and America. The sole exception is a few paintings by the Saudi artist Muhammad Rasem. Therefore, we ask: Was teaching arts merely a craft or a functional workmanship that was transmitted among people in those historical periods according to need and earning a living from it, or was its existence for aesthetic purposes also realized? Or has the existence of this craft itself witnessed a shift in its meaning, just as happened in the West? The craftsman who produces these works has witnessed a gradual development in his definition. The concept of the Master in European and American art history has gone from being concerned with the person who masters a handcraft that demonstrates aesthetic skill in three stages, starting from the craftsman teacher for functional purposes to the artist teacher for noticeable functional and aesthetic purposes, then the radical transition of description took place. So, the name “artist” was given to someone who produced these works of art and taught them in the art academies that spread at the end of the sixteenth century (James Deichend, 2020). In light of this, can we apply this transformation process to the history of artistic education in Saudi Arabia, which also seems to have witnessed a late transformation?
In the 1830s, Horace Mann (1796 AD), founder of the public-school movement in America, argued that public education would make people better workers, and that the painting lessons he wanted to include in public schools would have commercial applications and benefits (Jesse Raber, 2017), which is in reference to linking art with economics to enhance its social standing, and this is what actually happened in American schools, which witnessed the birth of many artistic growth theories and curricula as a result of those appeals to this day. In the 1930s, when we consider the distinctive artistic heritage of each region of Saudi Arabia, we find that there is an artistic design specificity that appears in the manufacture of mud doors and houses, for example, in all regions of the Kingdom. These products, which carry aesthetic dimensions in their appearance, had a direct connection to work and the existence of livelihood benefits long before that time, and the way they were taught and circulated among people was not known to us. Although, by studying these shapes, we find that they are not devoid of being a well-thought-out design and color scheme linked to the surrounding nature. These designs indicate that they were starting from a systematic process whose methods may not have been recorded except in that final pictorial form, such as a product on the doors of mud houses, simple carpet textures, and some traditional women’s clothing and others. Among its famous examples is Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, which was recently registered in UNESCO in 2017. No historical document has been recorded about the initial designs of the beginnings of these crafts. Therefore, we were not able to monitor the history of their origin in every region of the Kingdom. But we can now technically classify it as an artistic and cultural peculiarity of those regions. There are also no documented scientific sources from that era that explain how this design specificity was transmitted between members of the same region without it being practiced as a functional craft among members of the same family, which was for the purpose of earning a living, which prevailed in the spirit of that era in the Arab region before the cultural effects of colonialism appeared on the trends and methods of art.
The Saudi artist whose paintings can be considered an extension of the art movement in Europe and America at that time is the Saudi artist Mohammad Rasim, who has written artistic works since the beginning of the 1930s in Saudi Arabia. Rasim was born in the Taif region. He lived during the First World War when he was eight years old at the time, and then he studied art in Istanbul for four years. His few published works depict Hijazi life at that time. In some of his paintings, we find an early appearance of women in Saudi art. Rasim photographed all of this in a contemporary pictorial style of popular art in Europe and America in those historical periods, by using oil colors and the emergence of portraiture using modern artistic methods at that time. He held an art exhibition of his paintings in the early 1930s at the Polish bank where he worked (Al-Sulaiman, 2020). What the existence of Rasim’s paintings proves is that there are individual cases that practiced art using contemporary artistic methods, but they are not recorded historically due to the absence of written documentation. He also emphasizes the lack of art schools in the 1920s and early 1930s in the Arabian Peninsula in particular that cared for artists and developed their talents.
Art and Education 1945 AD:
In contrast to what happened in the history of European and American art education, which began with art academies and then moved to government schools, anyone who follows the history of art education in Saudi Arabia will find that it first began in government schools and years later moved to university education. By tracing art teaching in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I will review in some detail and criticism the sequence of development of administrative arts education since the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Through this historical review, I will focus on the role of some traditional and non-traditional institutions, and I will review the art curricula in both types of institutions. Who are its supporters? How did people benefit from it? What activities did it provide? How did the artistic subject matter differ between the two institutions? It is worth noting here that individual efforts were present despite their insignificance and even the lack of recording of their experiences.
While reviewing the curricula for teaching art in government institutions after 1945 AD and private institutions after 1970 AD, we find that the curricula for teaching art in traditional institutions consisted of teaching the principles of composition and design elements, the Islamic decorative heritage, and the simplest forms of learning weaving. As for its presence in private institutions, it occurred through teaching the arts using modern methods and different types of modern art schools, and it was directed and limited to a specific social class, which made it limited to a specific audience due to its high registration prices.
Official Art Scholarships:
Scholarship Preparation School in Mecca, 1937 AD:
In one of the most important early trends to support the modernization of education in general in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and arts education in particular, the Ministry of Education opened in 1939 the “Scholarship Preparation School” by Muhammad Taher al-Dabbagh. The school qualifies students to obtain scholarships outside the country in various specializations, this happens after completing three years of secondary education in this school. Most of the teachers in this school were of non-Saudi nationality. Painting was among the specializations for which students were given a scholarship for. After the end of the first three years of opening this school, some Saudi students were sent to study fine arts in other countries, and students interested in learning the arts were sent to one of the following lists of countries and cities:
Rome in 1960. One of the most important students who studied in Rome was the famous Saudi artist Abdulhalim Radwi (1939-2006), who prepared training courses for teachers in Saudi Arabia after his return (Hamza, 2006) (see Figure 1).
Italy in 1967. The artist Dia Aziz Dia and his wife Laila Hamza Shehata were among the most important students sent, who later contributed to the development of the arts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (see Figure 2).
The Florence Academy of Art in 1969. Among the students sent was the artist Mohammed Al Saleem, who after his return began teaching his own art (see Figure 3). The artist Mohammed Al Saleem’s artistic story is interesting. He made great contributions to Saudi artistic history, and he died in mysterious circumstances in his apartment in Italy.
The United States, 1971-1980. During this transitional period in the history of Saudi art education, and in order to support art education, 80 teachers were sent to the United States of America.
The Higher Institute of Art Education in Cairo (currently Helwan University). The artist Mohammed Al-Rasis (Abdul Rahman Al-Sulaiman, 2000) was one of the most important students who, after their return, contributed to the development of the arts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Art Education in Public Schools 1953 AD:
When the Ministry of Education was established under the leadership of Minister Fahd bin Abdulaziz in 1953 AD, the government education curricula were amended in all the schools, and among the important amendments was the approval to teach painting in all government schools on a compulsory basis. This decision had a major impact on the scene of the artistic movement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Students who had learned to paint abroad began to return to the country and create community awareness of the importance of the arts in a society that does not possess contemporary artistic knowledge. At that time, the teaching of painting faced strong opposition from some religious scholars who protested against teaching it in public education schools, and argued in a large number of fatwas that painting is photography, and that photography is absolutely prohibited in Islam. These objections were resisted by limiting the curricula and artistic subjects that were taught and not by cancelling it. Rather, the subjects were determined in accordance with the legal and conservative vision at the time. Drawing humans, animals, and birds was prohibited, and it was only permitted to draw landscapes and Islamic geometric and floral pattern. This was to keep up with education plans in the Kingdom.
The first approved curricula for art education in the primary, middle, and secondary educational levels were developed in the years 1957 AD and 1958 AD, which was the beginning towards the right path. In 1962 AD, the title of the subject was modified from “Painting and Crafts” to “Art Education”. At that time, attention was given to setting educational goals that were linked to theories of artistic development in children and adolescents. These goals were also connected to supporting other educational objectives, which contributed to developing students’ personalities and preparing them to be good citizens (Abdul Hadi Al-Husseini, 1987). Moreover, the goal became to educate students and modify their behavior aesthetically and artistically by applying lessons and artistic works previously prepared by the Ministry of Education. The teacher was not allowed to modify or deviate from the curriculum for fear of the reaction of society, which was charged against the fine arts and their learning on the one hand, and because of the lack of any financial capabilities to assist the teacher on the other hand. All art tools in and out of school serve pre-determined artistic purposes and themes.
Approval to teach painting in girls’ schools, The General Presidency for Girls Education, 1957 AD:
While the decision to officially compel the teaching of art education in all schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was adopted in 1957 AD, however, it was not approved in girls’ schools until 1959 AD. At that time, painting was added as a major subject in the curricula of primary and middle girls’ schools, and the curriculum presented was based on imitating ready-made artistic models, imitation, and perspective drawing using simple artistic tools such as pencil, colored pencils, crayons, and charcoal (Tariq Zakzak, 2014). This happened at a time when prominent female names today were making their artistic beginnings in Arab countries, and the most prominent examples of this period were the artists Safeya Binzagr and Munira Mosli, who received their academic education in Egypt and Britain, and returned to enrich Saudi feminist art with experience and contemporary artistic tools. The two artists held art exhibitions in that early period, and this was the first sign of the feminist artistic presence in Saudi galleries.
The First Art Exhibition for Government Schools in 1953:
In 1953 AD, as a result of this spread in teaching arts in all Saudi schools, the first art exhibition produced by students was held for the first time at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Riyadh and was opened by King Saud bin Abdulaziz. This event was considered the culmination of the Ministry of Education’s decision to teach art in schools and officially adopt fine arts. Since then, the Ministry has helped organize school art exhibitions in all regions of the Kingdom. These school exhibitions were the first time the arts were officially presented to society, and they were also the first places to highlight their creators, from which prominent artistic names in the history of Saudi Fine Arts emerged. School art exhibitions continued to be held annually, and in 1959 AD, the largest group exhibition for secondary schools in the Kingdom was held in Riyadh (Al-Rasis, 2009).
Training Courses for Teachers in Taif 1954-1964 AD:
In one of the decentralized Saudi cities, Taif, the first training courses for art teachers in the history of Saudi Arabia were launched. Between the years 1954 AD and 1964 AD, we see that teachers began attempts to qualify academically to teach art in public schools. These courses were held periodically and were initially taught by teachers from the Republic of Egypt. Then, after the success of the outcomes of the School for Preparing Educational Missions, Saudi artists returning from abroad began training new teachers in what they learned in art academies outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The artists Abdulhalim Radwi and Muhammad Al-Salim were among the first teachers to teach in these art courses in Taif (Al-Rasis, 2009).
Institute of Art Education in Riyadh 1965 AD:
Since 1957, many institutes have been established to train teachers to work in public schools as art teachers. One of the most important and effective of these institutions is the Institute of Art Education, which was established by the Ministry of Education in the city of Riyadh in 1965 AD. The duration of study at the institute was three years, including field training in schools, various extracurricular activities, and an art exhibition at the end of the academic year. To encourage students to study arts at this institute, a monthly financial award was paid to each student at a rate of $90 per month, and the Art Education Institute provided all the artistic materials and supplies necessary for art lessons. The artist Abdulhalim Radwi, after his return from Rome, was the first Saudi to teach at this institute, and he transferred his academic and artistic experiences during his studies abroad to the institute’s students. Later on, another important institute emerged to start the arts education movement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is the Fine Arts Center, which was established in the city of Jeddah in 1968 AD under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, and its director was also the artist Abdulhalim Radwi. This institute continued to offer art courses for those wishing to teach art for seven years, then it was closed in 1974, because the founders of the center were appointed to senior positions in public education (Al-Rasis, 2009).
Art Education in Saudi Universities 1975 AD:
Art education started in Saudi universities when it was decided to begin granting bachelor’s degrees in the specialty at King Saud University in Riyadh in 1975 AD and Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca in 1977 AD. In the 1980s, the Saudi government began supporting the teaching of humanities in all universities. During that period, 52 humanities colleges opened across the country, five of which offered an art education program as a degree (Al-Rasis, 2009). In terms of arts curricula, four specializations were offered in these universities: ceramics, textiles, metals, and printing. These four departments continue with the same curricula in many public universities to this day, with some minor additions. Since that time, the government gradually began to support the teaching of arts extensively, by opening arts colleges in all Saudi universities (Al-Sulaiman, 2000). Universities teach the history of European art and the most important artists of the nineteenth century as part of their general subjects in the first two years of college. In the third year, students choose only two fields out of the four main fields in order to study the specific specialization and obtain a bachelor’s degree. Also, in both years, for three months, the student obtains practical knowledge of teaching art in public schools. After four years, students earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education. Among the activities held to support the arts in public universities at that time was the presence of two art exhibitions annually for both students and faculty members at the university. Years later, Umm Al-Qura University opened a master’s program in art education in 1989, followed by King Saud University in 2003.
In the same historical period, we see that from 1970 AD onwards, many government agencies and private bodies began to support the arts more in the Kingdom. This period witnessed the establishment of the Saudi Society for Culture and Arts in 1973, and more than ten of its branches were opened in the cities of the Kingdom. The General Presidency for Youth Welfare was opened where the Department of Cultural Affairs was established, and among its programs is a special section for sponsoring fine arts and holding group art exhibitions for which prizes are allocated. The exhibitions include the General Exhibition of Sculptors, the General Exhibition of the Kingdom’s Regions, and the Saudi Contemporary Art Exhibition (Al-Sulaiman, 2000).
The opening of these institutions was the first sign of a shift in interest in the arts outside of schools or the field of formal education. Supporting products and artworks and promoting artists inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become greater than ever before. The Saudi Society for Culture and Arts initiates various projects during major national occasions such as the Saudi National Day, the annual Janadriyah Festival, or to celebrate the country’s centenary. Artists and art galleries have become more widespread and find generous support throughout Saudi Arabia, while art education in public schools has remained unchanged since its inception (Al-Rasis, 2009).
In 1999 AD, the Ministry of Education issued a plan to develop the general curricula for all academic subjects, including a committee of experts and curriculum specialists to develop the art education curriculum. The art education curriculum document was subsequently issued in 2003 under the title “Developing Art Education.” Since 2005, many art teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been awaiting the release of the curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education, which was prepared and reformulated by a group of experts in art education.
Since 1970 AD, art curricula have continued to introduce classical art in public schools, which includes the study of Islamic motifs, the making of clay products in the traditional style, sewing, and embroidery. At the same time, private artistic institutions and bodies provide contemporary art methods, schools, and tools for expensive fees, which has prevented all segments of society from being exposed to these contemporary arts and has been a reason for restricting and limited access to artistic education in the fields of contemporary arts and its theories.
One of the most famous of these private institutions is the Academy of Fine Arts, by the Saudi artist Safeya Binzagr 1940 AD. It is one of the first private academies to teach contemporary methods in fine art in Saudi Arabia, in addition to incorporating traditional methods into the curricula. The Academy organizes workshops for children and adults, art seminars and lectures, and includes an important art library and a museum equipped with the facilities and supplies necessary to hold art exhibitions.
Safeya Binzagr’s Academy is considered to be one of the most important and most organized private academies in that historical period, in terms of the clarity of its goal, which is to present contemporary arts in a specialized academic form, which contributed to its continued existence to this day. This academy formed an important trend in Saudi art, it combined academic study, holding exhibitions, and artistic and cultural activities at the same time. A number of important academies arose during the same period, such as the Saudi Arts House, which was established by the artist Mohammed Al-Salim, but it was more concerned with providing the art scene with new and contemporary artistic tools and holding exhibitions for artists than with supporting arts education in an academic manner. The Saudi Arts House provided its services to artists, not public schools, which contributed to the complete separation between school arts and the arts of private institutions and bodies.
This sharp disconnect in providing support for teaching and caring for the arts seriously and permanently between both governmental and private institutions was clearly reflected in the quality of the arts first, and then in the appreciation of the arts in society. We find that the development of the arts was neglected in the official educational institution, which is the first gateway to consolidating the values of art in society, and thus contemporary arts, modern curricula, and art education theories were presented in private institutions for limited and targeted groups. This structure has caused a delay in paying attention to the perspective of art fully in Saudi Arabia, which we find more successful in the experiments of teaching and disseminating arts in the rest of the countries in the Arab region.
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