EAST AND WEST: The Bridging of Cultures and Art by MUVEDDET AL-KATIB

Touring through OSAC’s Arts on the Move program. 

Muveddet Al-Katib has a story to tell. It is rich with colour and texture, history and culture, family, and love. It is about change, a recognition that with the gain of the new comes the loss of the old. At the age of 21, shortly after graduating art school in her home of Antioch (Antakya), Turkey Muveddet immigrated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to begin a new life with her husband. Those first years were spent establishing new roots in her adopted home and raising her family. She continued to develop her art, drawing inspiration from the Saskatchewan landscape and ever-changing skies. Still the Anatolian art and architecture of her homeland stayed firmly in her heart and mind. East and West: the Bridging of Cultures and Art is a series of paintings that combines her two world experiences through the use of colour, texture and mark making. 

“We all have a story to tell and this story starts with us when we start in life and it is shaped by everything we see and everyone we meet. We live in a changing world, where we are exposed to new cultures and new people from everywhere-especially in the differing worlds. Art can be a window into these different worlds and should be viewed as more than an object but a social necessity with an ability to tell stories, bring cultures together into one; one people, living and learning together, in one place, understanding each other along the way.” Muveddet Al-Katib 

East and West: the Bridging of Cultures and Art represents an artistic bridge between two homes that contain many cultures. Through these paintings Muveddet Al-Katib is sharing her story as an immigrant and newcomer, illustrating the differences and similarities we all share. 

Text by Belinda Harrow 

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