Officials at the launch of an exhibition of artworks created by inmates.
Doha: Cultural Village Foundation, Katara in cooperation with Seashore Group opened yesterday the “Athar of the penal and correctional institution inmates” exhibition at Building 19, Gallery 1, featuring 50 artworks.
It was led by Prof Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara, and Captain Bakhit Abdullah Al Marri from the Ministry of Interior’s (MOI) Penal and Correctional Institutions Department (PCID) along with several dignitaries.
The 50 artworks included paintings and sculptures which were created and produced by the inmates of the correctional institution.
Dr. Al Sulaiti said the exhibit is a valuable opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of the inmates at the institution.
He also lauded the initiative of MoI in this regard. He added that Katara supports efforts aimed at rehabilitating inmates and enable them to learn technical and craft skills, hone their potentials and become an active member of the society.
Capt. Al Marri said the exhibit comes within their framework of training programme launched by the administration for a year now and under the supervision of specialists in the field of painting, sculpture, and handicrafts. Through these, inmates learned how to paint, sculpt, and handicraft such as blacksmithing and carpentry, as well as digital manufacturing. The inmates were likewise awarded with certificates upon completion of the training, he explained.
Moreover, he said that the programme is aimed to instil the concept of productive work that will be beneficial for them once they are released.
He said inmates will receive half of the price of the artwork sold, while the other half will be allocated to the purchase of raw materials. The exhibition will run until March 17.
