Shaimaa Khaled is not only a gifted artist with a versatile approach to art, but also the inspiring entrepreneur behind Art Empowers, a platform dedicated to artists and art enthusiasts. We sit down with her to talk all about art, women empowerment and her contribution to the book Banat El Ayam Di.
Many artists are content with creating art in their spare time as a hobby. However, there are those who want to take it as a career path.
Knowing artist Shaimaa Khaled’s great track record in professional art, we had to know her thoughts.
“I strongly believe that taking a profession in the art field does not solely rely on technical skills.”
She continues, “It is really important to meet and network with other artists and art enthusiasts, and observe and learn about various types of art locally and internationally.” This kind of experience is made possible through Art Empowers, “This is part of what Art Empowers does in order to nurture emerging artists. Through our multi-concept platform, we provide a wide range of learning opportunities to artists, art enthusiasts, educators and creative professionals,” Shaimaa explains.
With this in mind, one cannot help but consider the impact of Social Media on the art world.
Artist Shaimaa Khaled has noticed it as well.
“Social Media changed the art scene in Egypt and the world”
“It created a huge market for affordable art to have a strong stance in the scene, and brought artists and art collectors closer than ever,” Shaimaa tells. That is not all, it has also created great exposure for artists. “It has allowed more artists to be seen and for them to be able to showcase their art to the world with the click of a button,” Shaimaa says.
Art is a great tool, not only for self-expression, but also for self-soothing.
We explored this topic with the artist. “I believe that even beginners, or any art enthusiast with no background in art whatsoever, can still ease their minds and destress by putting brush to paper,” Shaimaa explains.
Being a great advocate for empowerment, we had to bring up the topic of women empowerment.
Shaimaa Khaled believes female artists can empower one another in the field in many ways. “First of all, one way of doing so is by collaborating together on art projects which shed light on important topics related to women.” Shaimaa continues, “By allowing their personal/artistic platforms to advocate for other female artists’ voices.”
Finally, we had to know what Shaimaa Khaled’s future plans were.
“We are currently expanding our platform globally. We’re soon launching new projects in the UAE through cross-cultural projects and collaborations,” Shaimaa Khaled concludes.