UK artist to launch Omani Women exhibition – OmanGB

A British artist’s exhibition of photos of Omani women is set to open at Gallery Sarah in Muscat on October 12 – the same week as Omani Women’s Day.

Omani Women, which is also set to be exhibited in London in November, features 146 portraits taken by acclaimed artist Helen Couchman.

An associated book of the same name, funded by the UK-based Anglo-Omani Society, is also set to be launched at both events.

Helen, who completed a BA in Fine Art at Sir John Cass in London in 1996 and an MA in Critical Fine Art Practice at Central St Martins two years later, first visited Oman in February 2012.

“I was immediately struck by the country’s welcome and warm beauty,” she said. “Then, while on an expedition in the desert at the edge of The Empty Quarter, I happened upon two Bedouin women who were walking as if from nowhere through the unmarked dunes. They invited me for cardamom coffee and fresh dates and showed me around their farm, which was hidden behind a couple of dunes.