Commissioned by Qatar Museums Authority, Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport, the first exhibition in London by the internationally renowned photographer Brigitte Lacombe with the documentary maker Marian Lacombe, opened on July 24, 2012 at Sotheby’s Gallery in London in the presence of QMA’s Chief Executive Officer Mansoor Al Khater. The exhibition will stay on view until 11 August 2012 in conjunction with the XXX Olympiad in London.

The exhibition features a brand new series of large-scale photographs by Brigitte Lacombe of more than 50 Arab sportswomen, from beginners to Olympians, from 20 different Arab countries, shown alongside videos by her sister, Marian Lacombe, which situate the images within the women’s personal histories and a wider – often unspoken – discourse of gender, culture and sport in the Arab world.

The exhibition was conceived by the Qatar Museums Authority, combining its long-standing commitment to commissioning and showing the work of internationally renowned artists with the wider goal of the country to drive forward Qatar’s aim of educating and sparking debate about sport, and of persuading more girls to find a way to participate. Commenting on the importance of this exhibition, QMA CEO Mansoor Al Khater said: “This exhibition is a reflection of our belief in the power of culture in breaking down social barriers and building bridges between people of all nations and backgrounds. QMA is committed to enlarging the cultural debate and creating a platform for the voice of Qatar.”

The project, shot over a period of seven months, began in December 2011, in the Athletes Village at the Arab Games in Doha, where Brigitte and Marian Lacombe set up a specially created outdoor studio, working side by side. Thereafter they travelled working with women athletes of all ages and levels of achievement in countries from the Arabian Gulf to North Africa. With the support of Qatar’s Aspire programme, which promotes sporting opportunities for young people, they also worked with the talented younger generation of sporting hopefuls. 

Award-winning French photographer Brigitte Lacombe lives in New York City. Over the last thirty years, she has worked extensively on assignments in magazines, the theatre and film. The long list of legendary directors she has worked with include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, Sam Mendes, Michael Haneke, David Mamet, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Jonze, and since 1983 she has worked on all David Mamet’s productions. Her work has been extensively published including two monographs (2001 and 2009). Since 2009, she has been working on an ongoing project for the Doha Film Institute and the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar. Entitled, I am Film, this is a collection of portraits of international filmmaker and actors, with an emphasis on filmmakers from the Middle East region. 

Marian Lacombe works as an independent documentary film-maker, following 20 years as a reporter, anchorwoman and editor-in-chief on daily news and magazines for the French tv channel M6 in Paris. She has directed documentaries on filmmakers, choreographers and designers such as Robert Altman, Philippe Decouflé and Christian Lacroix. Since 2010, she has been working with Brigitte Lacombe for the Doha Film Institute photographic project I am Film. She also travels around the world filming and working on travel assignments for Condé Nast Traveler Magazine.

QMA Gallery at the Cultural Village, Katara, will play host to the Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport exhibition in February 2013. An extensive educational program will complement this exhibition aiming to engage visitors. Hey’Ya, the title of the exhibition is an Arabic expression meaning Let’s Go.

Photo credits:

Photo #1: Artist Brigitte Lacombe

Photo #2: QMA CEO Mansoor Al-Khater

Photo #3: From right to left- Khalid Al-Mansouri - Qatar Ambassador to the UK, Julia Peyton Jones - Serpentine Gallery, H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani - Secretary General of Qatar Olympic Committee, Brigitte Lacombe - Artist, Robin Woodhead - Chairman Sotheby's and Mansoor Al-Khater - Qatar Museums Authority CEO.

Source: http://www.qma.com.qa/en/news/news-archive/559-heyya-arab-women-in-sport-exhibition-opens-in-london

As the Olympics Approach, Brigitte Lacombe’s Stunning Portraits of Arab Lady Athletes

by Eddie Rios

Hayat Lambarki, athletics, Morocco.

Nisrine Dandan, basketball, Lebanon.

Brigitte and Marian Lacombe’s exhibition is accompanied by a photography book with essays from Egyptian-born author Gini Alhadeff and Qatari filmmaker Sophia Al-Maria.

With London’s Summer Olympics two weeks away, many compelling storylines have emerged,one of which includes the rise of the female Arab athlete. Under considerable social pressure back home, these women have found equal athletic opportunity on the global stage. To document their experience, Vanity Fair photographer Brigitte Lacombe and her sister, Marian, a documentary filmmaker, spent a year traveling across the Gulf and North Africa, photographing and interviewing more than 50 women from 20 Arab countries.

The Egyptian women’s basketball team.

Amina Ferguen, athletics, Algeria.

The resulting exhibition,“Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport”(Hey’Ya is Arabic for “Let’s Go”), will be first shown at Sotheby’s in London, then moved to the Qatar Museums Authority Gallery in Doha in early 2013. The above photographs offer a glimpse into the personal stories that make female Arab athletes’ resurgence in the international spotlight all the more inspiring.

The Jordanian women’s cycling team.

Reem Al Sharshani, shooting, Qatar.

Photographs by Brigitte Lacombe

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/07/summer-olympics-arab-women-athlete-photos-brigitte-lacombe?mbid=social_facebook#slide=11

Lebanon’s women bring in 3 gold medals

Lebanon’s women bring in 3 gold medals

December 20, 2011 02:47 AMBy Kenny Laurie

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Lebanese sport had its most productive day yet at the Arab Games in Doha Monday with Lebanon collecting three gold medals, all of which were won by female athletes.
Lebanon’s women’s basketball team showed up their male counterparts by clinching the gold medal at the Arab Games with a 72-34 win over hosts Qatar while Gretta Taslakian won the women’s 200-meter race and Katya Bachrouche clinched her second gold medal of the games in the 400-meter freestyle.
While the women’s team managed to go through the entire championship unbeaten, Lebanon’s men have slumped to two abysmal defeats, as well as suffering the embarrassment of revoking center Sam Hoskin’s citizenship for having once played basketball in Israel. Even more embarrassingly, the Sports and Youth Ministry admitted that it knew about Hoskin’s previous appearances in Israel but chose to cover up the detail. The women’s side, however, restored some much-needed credibility to the federation thanks to the sublime performances throughout the Arab Games.
As if to highlight Lebanon’s domination and philosophy, not one single player scored in double figures against Qatar, as the team instead shared the ball, resulting in only two players on the 15-woman roster failing to score. The team managed to create 22 assists in a blinding performance of team basketball. Rebecca Akl once again set the tone for Lebanon, handing out seven assists and troubling Qatar on the defensive end with five steals.
Taslakian’s gold medal will have gone some way toward atoning for her disappointing silver medal in the 100-meter race last week. The Lebanese athlete clocked a time of 24:10, two tenths of a second slower than her personal best and national record. Taslakian has now won three of the last four gold medals available to her in the Arab Games.
Bachrouche’s second gold medal marks the swimmer’s place as the nation’s most successful athlete at the games, having won the 400-meter butterfly race Saturday. The swimmer clocked a time of 4:15.24 to win gold.
Despite the slew of wins, Lebanon still sits in 13th place in the overall medal table with 18 medals, including four golds, four silvers and 10 bronze medals. Egypt still sit at the top of the table with more than double the medals (168) of second placed Tunisia (83).

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on December 20, 2011, on page 15.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Sports/Basketball/2011/Dec-19/157342-lebanons-women-bring-in-3-gold-medals.ashx#ixzz1hGEtPxtQ
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)