19 March 2020. I was thrilled to be invited to run an art writing class for the Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN) Festival in London. As the first coronavirus lockdown began in England on 16 March, the class was moved from the Arab British Centre to Zoom but we were able to have a great interactive session online.
The 90-minute workshop was aimed at aspiring young writers, artists and art enthusiasts who want to refine their writing skills and learn more about the art writing industry. The class went through the writing process from start to finish including finding and pitching ideas; developing and structuring a story; and promoting and maximising content.
The workshop focussed on writing about art and culture from the Middle East, looking carefully at popular artists and recurring themes as well as important things to consider and pitfalls to avoid. Despite the regional focus, the skills taught in this workshop were broadly applicable to all areas of visual art.
The class included examples of good and bad practice and gave each participant an opportunity to write and receive feedback on a short article.
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