Art for Peace

Issue No. 3

Dear friends,

 Welcome to the 3^rd issue of 'Art for Peace' - a quarterly newsletter that I have created to share my journey of art, peace, spirituality and healing with all of you. 

I started my activities in Dubai, at a great event in the Emirates Towers; Christie's (2^nd) Auction. It was a beautiful showcase of Arabic, African, Asian and Western art pieces and a great success. It is always wonderful to see initiatives that have a positive impact on the art scene in the region. I must say that the progression that has started is tremendous, with key names such as Christy's and Sotheby's auction houses operating in UAE.  

During my stay in Dubai I met a lady called Janet Rady who is so dedicated to promoting Middle Eastern Art that she decided to set up her own website to promote Arab artists. She currently lives in London and is planning to open a gallery for Middle Eastern art. 

I also had a chance to visit the few new galleries that are now open in Dubai and might even have a solo show in one of them in 2008; I will keep you informed!

A mock-up of the Performance Arts Centre in Saadiyat Island - a work of art! Designed by Zaha Hadid

There is so much happening in the UAE that enriches the regional art scene, such as the Gulf Art Fair at Madinat Jumeira in Dubai and Art Paris, a French art fair that is going to take place in November 2007 in Abu Dhabi. 

The biggest new project is the Saadiyat Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi, a very impressive landmark that they are turning into a cultural hub. I was overwhelmed by the design concepts of the Guggenheim museum, The Louvre, the Performance Arts Centre, the Maritime Museum, and the Biennale Park that they are looking to build, and feel that such a massive project is sure to place Abu Dhabi on the global cultural map.

Slovenia was my next stop. A beautiful and serene country located in Europe, near Vienna, where I did something for the first time! I painted in the presence of a beautiful spiritual audience, and gave away one of my works to the president of Slovenia. He is an amazing gentleman, a poet and a writer, who is dedicating his time in office to doing humanitarian work for his country in the hope of bringing people closer to peace. I wish that all leaders in the world will do similar work like this wonderful Man to help raise the consciousness of their own people.

Pictures of Slovenia

After having had a lovely time in Slovenia with four wonderful women and great friends of mine; Peace Light workers Barbara wolf, Margaret Fikioris, Silverstar, and Dea Music, we traveled to the UAE, and had the chance to visit three universities, Zayed University, The Higher Colleges of Technology and the UAE University in Al Ain. I felt major pride while showing them around the campuses, and across the educational facilities that are aimed at empowering students, and the professors we met were mostly western and very up-to-date. The Minister of Higher Education H.R.H. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan has been a blessing for his country. It is almost miraculous to have accomplished such standards in a short span of time, he is a man of even temperament and a great gift for his people. The Light workers received very positive feedback from the students who attended their lectures, and from the people they met during their trip to the UAE. These great ladies were a joy to travel with and I look forward to seeing them again real soon!

Barbara Wolf, Margaret Fikioris, and Silverstar

I then travelled to Turkey where we had a ceremony to include Turkey as the 6th Country to host the Peace Marker. It was a successful event and lovely to be with all the friends from the Brotherhood Union Mevlana Supreme Foundation, people full of Love and light.
 

A high-energy moment between Nourcan Turkoglu the Peace Ambassador to Turkey and me in Istanbul - this woman does not speak English and I not a word of Turkish the only language we have in common is that of peace and love!

The World Peace Marker celebration in Turkey,

with four Peace Ambassadors, Eliza Monet, Nurcan Turkoglu, Dea Cosmica and Me.

My spiritual journey has been amazing so far and all of these encounters have been an inspiration to me. So much that I have decided as Peace Ambassador to create a Prayer Day totally dedicated to peace in Lebanon! This would be a Call for the union of people from all religions and nationalities, and I have already started talking to spiritual and religious leaders to invite them to join me in this important event. The response has been promising so far and I look forward to infusing my energy into this kind of activity, in the hope that it might send out a strong message to the Lebanese community to unite, forgive and love one another.

                            This painting was featured in the new book about the economy in the Gulf
                                       by The McKinsey Quarterly named 'Beyond Oil: Reappraising the Gulf' 


My next trip will be to Dallas in the US to participate in the 3^rd International Women's Peace Conference where I will be speaking on behalf of Lebanon as the WPMP Ambassador of Peace. Right now I will be creating paintings non-stop to release the beautiful energy I have gathered in my journey.

At last I would like to thank all the people who joined hands with me in recent projects and helped make all of these activities a great success!

Thank God for all His blessings and Happy Easter!

    Brent Sheneman is a great photographer, a friend and a very active member of WPMP

   This is a beautiful picture he took in Turkey during our stay there.