After an explosive B-Boy of the Year Round 4 Cypher, July got kicked into high gear at Malja Bahrain! After a quiet first week of set up, the space reopened its doors to welcome art-lovers to the launch of Too Far Co.’s first Malja-hosted art exhibition: Bahrain (In The) House, a showcase of six Bahraini artists’ work from the SIKKA Art Fair in Dubai on March 11, 2017. The space was a-buzzing with insightful critique and artistic expression. The energy paved the way for Malja to host its 13th Open Mic night on July 15. With a full set of 18 participants and a full house at the gallery space, Open Mic saw a variety of talent emerge onto the stage. The night’s stand-outs include an emotionally powered poetry performance that led the performer and audience to tears, a spoken-word duo who shined light on social issues, an electronic music performance, and, for the first time ever at Malja Open Mic, a speed-sketching performer who completed an entire art piece in around five minutes! The month closed off with a double-whammy on July 29 with not one, but two awesome workshops. The first, a Film Photography workshop with Ali Alshehabi, and “How to Collaborate in a Studio Environment” with Malja’s favourite collaborators: Hamad Ebrahim and Ahmed Zainal.
If July’s been quite the head-turner, we can’t wait to see what’s coming our way in August!