Honour finds its way from UK to this Bahraini artist

A practising artist and teacher from Bahrain, Tamadher Alfahal, has been named one of Birmingham City University’s Alumni of the Year. She will receive her award on Monday in Symphony Hall, Birmingham (UK), in the presence of hundreds of graduands and their families.

After completing a degree in Interior Design at the University of Bahrain, Tamadher enrolled at Birmingham City University to complete her MA. 

She returned home to teach on her undergraduate course, while also building up her reputation as a practising artist. Tamadher, who hails from Muharraq, has contributed to several art workshops and was a member of the Bahraini team at the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2010.

 The Alumni of the Year award provides an opportunity to recognise Birmingham City University graduates who have made a valuable contribution to society or their professional field. It also demonstrate the extraordinary range of achievements among the University’s former students.

Tamadher responded following the announcement of the award, “I feel honoured and privileged to be selected as an Alumni of the Year among many people who graduated from Birmingham City University and made great progress in their careers. I am honoured that I am sharing this title with people who made outstanding accomplishments. I am actually overwhelmed with gratitude that my University is acknowledging the work that I did after I graduated and I am truly thankful to be selected.”

She will receive the award in the Community Engagement and Leadership category, which recognises her work in bringing 12 artists from different parts of Bahrain to facilitate art as way to promote integration within society. 

Project Ulafa’a sees the artists work closely with young people. It would use art and design to celebrate their common ground, building a stronger and safer community.

Tamadher explained, “Project Ulafa’a aims to bring society together again, by facilitating art as a form of expression instead of violence. I brought together 12 young artists from different parts of Bahrain, who all believed in the power art had, to touch people’s hearts.”

She said the group mainly focused on community-driven artwork and a collaborative approach through a series of artworks and exhibitions, rather than artists producing work in an isolated way. 

“After one year of meeting once a week, and an intensive training week in Peacebuilding and Arts offered by Brandeis University in Boston, the group opened three independent self-curated exhibitions to the public, offering artworks that spoke to various levels of the community,” she said. 

As a result of her work with Project Ulafa’a and as a practising artist, in 2014 Tamadhar was invited to talk in Bangalore, India, as part of a TEDx conference, on what it means to be a modern Muslim women living in the Middle East today.

Tamadhar is now back in Birmingham, undertaking a PhD with Birmingham City University on Islamic art and design. She is also an alumni mentor at the University and visits current MA students to discuss their ideas and offer support.

“For my PhD, my research is mainly aimed at breaking the clichéd image of Islamic art and going back to the profound principles of faith that generated this rich history of art and design. My research is practice-based and reflects my professional role outside research and study; I am an artist, designer and curator and I would love to facilitate my passion for art and community projects as a vehicle in my research,” she said.