Where: Casa Blu, Adliya

When: Tuesday, March 25th 2008, from 7.00pm to 9.00pm

Elham will host the first open mike night at Casa Blu in Adliya on Tuesday, 25th March at 7 pm! Casa Blu is located close to the Al Jazera Grocery and is renowned for it’s artistic ambiance.

For all of you who have been thinking of sharing your music or prose, this will be your month to shine.

A microphone and piano will be available.

A Memorable Night of Bahraini Art

In a candle-lit ambient, the works of four Bahraini artists was showcased at the 11th monthly gathering of the Elham creative arts group last month. The event, held at Albareh Art Gallery, featured well-established calligrapher Mahmood Al Mulla, award-winning author and photographer Ali Al Saeed, artist Mariam Hadji and poet and designer Haifa Al Mousawi.

The audience enjoyed a presentation by Mahmood highlighting his varied work combining classic Arabic calligraphy with contemporary art, while Ali offered a new angle to his fans by conducting a showcase of digital along with pieces of fiction and writings.

Mariam’s intricate paper sculptures, created exclusively for the event, were the highlight of the evening. Her pieces dealt with issues of plastic surgery, abject and human form. The gallery was also decorated with several of Haifa’s pottery-based lampshades which she designed inspired by symbols.

Elham Poets to Take Centre Stage

Now it’s time for Bahrain’s poets to step up and take centre stage! Elham, the creative arts group, is hosting its very first open mike night at Casa Blu, on March 25th from 7pm to 9pm.

The group’s upcoming 12th Monthly Gathering, will take on a new form, instead of its usual outline. There is no confirmed lineup of performers, but everybody is encouraged to come down to the event to share their poetry or music with us.

Whether you are a published poet, a newcomer, or someone who had never shared their poetry with other before, now is the chance to do so, among a group of art enthusiasts who are all there to enjoy the varied and eclectic talents.

There will also be a couple of surprises guest appearances who will join the other poets in a free-flowing, improvised recital session.

After hosting its activities at various venues including Alriwaq Art Gallery, Albareh Art Gallery and Lina’s Café, the group is pleased to announce that Casa Blu has agreed to host this exciting new event and make the most of its artistic ambience.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Melissa on 39239308 or email elhambahrain@yahoo.com

Writers & Artists wanted for anthology:

Elham: the creative arts group, is planning on publishing a special book in the near future, featuring the works of Elham members as well as some of Bahraini’s hottest talents.

This project aims at highlighting art and literature coming out of the region and provide an opportunity for both establishing and upcoming artists and writers to showcase their work in print.

The anthology will include poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, photography and art. We are seeking work to fill the book, so please select your best work and submit it to us.

The submission guidelines are as follows:

Elham Anthology Submissions://Prose, Poetry, Art, Photography, Music

WORDS://

English://We consider submissions of short stories, creative blog entries, personal narratives, and short film scripts no longer than 5,000 words. There is a 600-word minimum. Please submit electronically to elhambahrain@yahoo.com with “ writing submission” in subject header All submission must have page number in the lower right hand corner, double spaced, with last name and title as header on each page. Excerpts from larger works, screenplays, treatments, and novels: one chapter/scene only.

English://Up to five poems in either language are accepted. Submit to elhambahrain@yahoo.com with “poetry” in subject header.

SUBMISSIONS PERIOD: Feb 25-June 15 2007. Those with work accepted receive a free copy of the anthology.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, and first serial rights are required. We do not respond to writers who don’t include full contact information.

ART and PHOTGRAPHY:>//

Photography, drawing, and art are accepted in the following format:

Please provide a medium to high resolution image (minimum 72 dpi), preferably Jpeg format, along with the following details:

- a caption detailing what the image depicts
- any copyright notice you would like us to include
- any photographers’ attribution you would like us to include
- brief explanation of the work (no more than 150 words)
- name as you would like it to appear

SUBMISSIONS PERIOD: Feb 25-June 15 2007. Those with work accepted receive a free copy of the anthology.

An Internationally renowned calligrapher, an award-winning author and a young and upcoming artist will showcase their work at the 11th Elham Monthly Gathering this month. Mahmood Al Mulla is a founder member of the Bahrain Fine Arts Association and is considered one of the country’s finest calligraphers combining Arabic calligraphy with fine art. He has participated in many exhibitions locally, regionally and internationally including France, UK, Egypt and Lebanon. He also received several awards for his work. He will showcase some of his latest works and talk about his experience as a calligrapher and using calligraphy as an artistic outlet.

He will be joined by Ali Al Saeed, the author of the novel QuioxtiQ (2004) and the collection of short stories Moments (2006), both of which were national best-sellers. Ali worked as a journalist for two newspapers between 1998 and 2004. He currently contributes to several magazines including Ohlala! Arabia and has a weekly column in the Gulf Daily News. Ali’s work was published in numerous journals, magazines, anthologies and websites. He is an avid photographer and an aspiring filmmaker. Ali is the recipient of the Bahrain Outstanding Book of the Year Award and a founder member of Elham.

Ali, who has been working on two new novels and expects to publish his new book sometime later this year, will present a new piece for the first time to the public.

And the evening will also feature an exciting new Bahraini artist. Mariam Hadji, born in Bahrain in 1985, is currently based in Melbourne Australia She first discovered my talent at the age of 8 and ever since she has been practicing. After finishing school in Bahrain, she traveled to study in Dundee Scotland for two years and then transferred to Melbourne, Australia to continue her degree in Fine art in 2003 and has since been very active in the Melbourne art scene.

Mariam will conduct a presentation of her work and delve into her fascinating and original artistic techniques, theories and conceptualizations. Mariam is also featured in this issue of Ohlala.

Elham: The Creative Arts Group, provides a monthly forum for artistically minded people, and gives both expat and Bahraini artists traversing the creative spectrum a platform to showcase their work. In addition to monthly sessions at galleries and cafés, there are satellite events such as jamming evenings, photographers’ days out and various workshops.

The event will be held on Wednesday, February 27th from 7pm. A venue will be announced soon. For more information email: elhambahrain@yahoo.com or call Melissa on 39239308.