Work continues on Jeddah's seafront masterpieces

Fady Jameel, president of ALJCI and overseeing the entire project, is seen here painting one of the sculptures

A restoration project to give new life to the forgotten masterpieces that line Jeddah's sea front is well under way and nearing completion.

The 27 bronze statues, that include works by Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, and Joan Miro were brought to the city between 1973 and 1986 and were installed on the Corniche. Over time, they have become damaged by the sea air and exposure to the elements.

Thanks to a waterfront development plan from Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI), a British consultancy firm Plowden & Smith, have been restoring the statues to their original condition since January 2012.

Restoration continues on Jeddah's priceless collection of bronze statues

The team have dismantled most of the statues and moved them to a workshop to conduct the restoration work. ALJCI have organised a training programme for Saudi artists on to run alongside the restoration works to ensure that sculptures will remain in a good condition in the future.

Once finished, the statues will be moved to an open-air sculpture park close to the Al Anani mosque, on an area of 7,000 square metres.

Fady Jameel, President of ALJCI International, stated that he is proud to be contributing to reviving Jeddah’s beauty and glory and added that this is only the first phase of this initiative, and will be followed by other stages to restore all other sculptures in Jeddah.

The restoration project has been going on for almost 18 months