Theme: Old But Gold

What is TEDxSanaaSalon “Old but Gold”?
Our Yemeni civilization has been engraved into the history of the nations as an ancient human civilization that has left its clear traces on the stone, the places, and even humans. As time passes and events continue in our Yemeni present, our history and ancient heritage became replaced by modern alternatives and buried in the traffic of daily life problems. And because we believe in the saying: " A nation without a past is a nation without a present.", and that "the revival of the Yemeni heritage is the basis for our desired renaissance, we have decided to start shaking off the dust off our history, art, and our forgotten Yemeni figures for the sake of presenting them to the people of this generation and the world with the recognition and honor they truly deserve. Hence, the TEDxSanaaSalon event is named "Old but Gold", after the old Yemeni proverb that indicates the necessity of wiping the buildup dust on ginger in order to get its true benefits. This slogan reflects the authenticity of the Yemeni past and emphasizes the need to preserve it in light of the ongoing acceleration of modernity. And we, thus, announce the survival of the Yemeni identity in the hearts of its people.

The vision of Event “Old but Gold”:
Because we seek in this event to open a small window on our authentic heritage, and to present it to an audience who cares about its details and eagerly seeks to pursue it, we decided to discuss this through three main topics, namely:

HISTORY:
History is a legacy from our past. It provides clues to our past and how our society has evolved. It is what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Heritage in the era of modernity
is like the roots in a tree. The more they sink and branch out, the stronger the tree becomes in facing the vicissitudes of life.
Thus, here at TEDxSanaa Salon, we will take you a step back into our fascinating past to get a hands-on history experience& enjoy all our culture &mesmerizing beauty.

Modernization of art:
It Involves the update and renewal of ancient art by changing composition, illustrations, and mixing or adding modern music. This serves to make art more popular locally and internationally.

Historic Figures:
History is full of influential people leaving an impact in all fields of life. Their achievements across so many disciplines from art to science shaping the world as we know it today, and we will discuss these figures in TEDxSanaaSalon.

Target audience:
TEDxSanaaSalon will conduct an "Old but Gold" event at the Basement Cultural Foundation. The event aims to target individuals fond of Yemen’s ancient heritage, who are interested in ancient and modern arts of all kinds, keen to explore through reading the history of Yemen, and that of key Yemeni influential figures.
The event plans to bring together a group of Yemeni researchers and academia, activists, businessmen, artists, government officials, and those with remarkable successes in various areas of community life.

Block One
Haddah St, Alnuzili Building
sanaa, Şan‘ā', 00967
Yemen

Abdulrahman Al-Ghabry

Executive Manager at Yemen identity Foundation

Al-Ghabry (also known as Yemen's Photographic Memory) is the head of the Yemen region in the Arab Photographers Union, & the executive director of Yemen Identity Foundation. He owns a large archive of his works “Negative & Positive” & “Digital”. His works document most aspects of life in Yemen; social, political, environmental, cultural, historical, & economic transformations. He held more than 79 exhibitions worldwide, & his work was published locally & internationally in newspapers & magazines. Not only is Al-Ghabry a renowned photographer & a Yemeni icon, but he is also one of the founders of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, a member of the Arab Journalists Union, & a member of the World Journalists Organization. He was appointed as an advisor to the Ministry of Culture for Visual Arts in an honorary position in 2015. Moreover, he served as a director of the Military Theater in 1976 & participated in a number of documentaries as a director, cinematographer & photographer.

Ahmad Al Tashi

Architect

"An architect who is interested in reintroducing and publicizing one of the oldest musical instruments in the world, known as the "Qanboos", an ancient Yemeni instrument that disappeared at the beginning of the sixties. Al-Tashy is working with other interested people in Yemen to develop a curriculum that teaches Qanboos instrument, and the mechanism of making the instrument."

Amjad Faqirah

Director of Armadost Center for Art

"Amjad has been working as a guitarist and trainer since 2009. He won the State Prize in music in 2017, in addition, that he established a number of educational and academic institutions in the field of music Amjad is the Founder and Director of Armadost Art Center for teaching and documenting Yemeni heritage using Western musical instruments. Amjad is proficient in playing stringed instruments in addition to orchestration. He also worked as a trainer in computer maintenance from 2004-2011. One of His dreams is to help to spread music and peace culture in Yemen, as well as establishing educational and academic institutions for music".

Asia Al Thubhani

unemployed

Asia is a fine artist who masters the Resin Epoxy art and completed a diploma in painting. She participated in the "Effect "conference for people with special needs. She also participated in" Puzzle exhibition" within an initiative called "Lady Space "

Buthaina Al Thubhani

Interior design student

Buthaina has been practicing singing since childhood. Recently, Buthaina started participating in university and other social events. Buthaina considers singing as an artistic outlet and she aspires to be influential in any way and to bring joy to people's hearts.

Hussam Al Selwi

Student

"When Hossam started discovering his talent in 2018, he experienced many challenges throughout the way, but his public relations paved the way for him to perform his first song at the beginning of 2021 and now he is working on preparing new songs Hossam aspires to show the world a good image of Yemeni youth and promote Yemeni Art culture widely"

Marwa Al Duba'ie

unemployed

Marwa is a multi-talent girl who participated in many photography competitions and was keen to acquire computer and English skills. Marwa is actively aspiring to develop her embroidery skills which are her first consideration through participating in various exhibitions and events aiming at assisting those in need.

Nadeen Dada

Designer/ Project Officer - Khair Everywhere

Nadeen currently works with the brand Khair everywhere as a designer & project officer. She empowers & supports rural Yemeni women by teaching them to sew & make traditional Yemeni costumes in a contemporary way. She previously worked as a Director of Loyac Center for Training and Rehabilitation of Rural Women in Lahj. She also worked as a Relations Officer at Youth of Peace Organization, & used to shoot documentaries with Spark organization. Nadeen studied at Creative Space Beirut 2019 in Kuwait. She also volunteered in 2013 at the Center for International Human Rights Law in Taiz.

Sahar Hasan

Court interpreter, (SOSI company) - New York

Sahar graduated with honors from Sana’a University in the English Language. She is currently working as an English-Arabic Interpreter, Lionbridge, Linguistica International, Fluent Solutions, The Bigword, Geneva Worldwide - NY, & previously- SOSI. She is also a TEFL accredited ESL Instructor at iTutorChat group - NY. Sahar is also a renowned fine artist having graduated with a Masters's degree in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, NY. She has won multiple art awards, namely: -Merit Award, “All Women” Art Exhibition, Light Space Time in Jan 2020 - People’s Choice Award, NY. Jan 2016 - Jury’s Choice Award, BWAC Gallery NY Sep 2017. • Art competition award, CLP-USAID. Apr 2012 • The Great Cultural competition winner in fine art, 2nd place. Her artwork focuses on showing the artistic aspects of the Yemeni heritage, such as engravings, fabrics, & qamariyat. Moreover, her art exhibits the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy & ancient cultures to present them In a way that matches modern art.

Taher Al Aghbari

Architecture student

Taher has good experience in portraits with different materials. He also masters design and graphics. Taher won first place in the annual competition to commemorate the passing of artist Fouad Al-Futaih 2018. In addition to that, He has participated in many local exhibitions.

Tarteel Taha

Chemical Sciences Student

" Tarteel is an art activist who formed the "Free Wall Exhibition" with 22 other artists to display their artwork. Tarteel's passion for art made her establish a startup with a special identity that produces items with the slogan "Made in Yemen".She also participated in many exhibitions and produced many art paintings with different ideas, the most important of which was the UNESCO-funded "Mijdaf" project and she also worked as an art teacher for children.Tarteel dream is to start a big company that produces drawing tools as well as founding an art school for Yemeni painters. She is also looking forward to presenting several of her paintings in an art museum that includes thousands of artworks".