Syrian artist, Abdullatif Al Smoudi, was born in 1948 in the city of Hama and graduated from Damascus University, Faculty of Fine Arts, in 1975. Following his graduation, he moved to and resided in the United Arab Emirates where he worked as an art instructor in the military schools of the country. He then joined a division of the Sharjah Government in the Department of Culture and Information and was later appointed to the Sharjah Art Museum from the moment of its establishment, where he remained, until his passing in 2005. During his career, dedicated much of his times, passion, and effort to the artistic and cultural scenes, in addition to being one of the founding members of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, Al Banoosh Group and other associations and art groups.
Al Smoudi was a key personage in the Arab abstraction movement, a poet, a visual artist, an intellectual, a designer, an activist in arts and culture, and a leading figure when it came to art groups, exhibitions, book fairs, children’s workshops, and teaching people with special needs.
His work has been exhibited at the Ministry of Culture in Syria, the Cultural Complex in Abu Dhabi, the Islamic Manuscripts Department at the Louvre in Paris, the United Nations Office at Vienna, and the Sharjah Art Museum, as well as in more than 85 solo and group exhibitions around the world.
Al Smoudi succeeded in solving the challenges facing many Arab artists by embodying the beauty of the Islamic and oriental heritages through the richness of his visual vocabulary, the multiplicity of color rhythms, the aesthetic components, and distributed momentum in his works, imbuing their beholders’ spirit, eye, and imagination.

Activities & Foundations

  • - A member of the Fine Arts Syndicate, Syria, since 1972
  • - A member of Arab Fine Artists Union, since 1974
  • - The founder member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, early 1980s
  • - The founder of the Panosh Group which consists of ten artists, since 1982
  • - The founder of Negative / Positive Group (Graphic), since 1985
  • - The founder of the "Four Plus Group"
  • - The founder member of the Special Bulletin of the Fine Arts “Al Tashkil", published by the Emirates Fine Arts Society, U.A.E. since 1985
  • - Designer of the Sharjah Pavilion at the International Tourism Exhibition in Germany, 1985
  • - One of the organizers of Child workshop, conducted annually on the occasion of the Sharjah Book Fair, 1985 – 1988
  • - The founder member of the Palestinian Fine Artists Union branch in the U.A.E. since 1989
  • - Arbitration Committee member, annual Exhibition of Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation during 1988 - 91 seasons
  • - Member of the Organizing Committee of the Sharjah International Art Biennial, General Committee for the Five Years 1993-2001, and the organizer of more than 150 personal, group and international exhibitions
  • - Member of the Judgment Committee of the Artistic Creativity Award - Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais (The Cultural & Knowledge Seminar, Dubai) five periodic times
  • - Member of the Judgment Committee of the General Exhibition of the Omani Fine Arts Society, 2000
  • - Rapporteur of the Jury of the Sharjah International Art Biennial 2001
  • - Member of the Organizing & Supreme Committee of the Sharjah International Forum for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy (known today as Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial)
  • - The founder of "Mental Exercises" group 2002

Achievements

  • - Bronze Medalist, Spring Exhibition, Abu Dhabi U.A.E. 1989
  • - Bronze Medalist, Abu Dhabi Exhibition, U.A.E. 1991
  • - First Prize of the U.A.E. Professional Artists of the year 1990
  • - Honored by the Emirates Fine Arts Society at the state level
  • - First Prize, Bangladesh Art Biennial (All of Asia continent, Australia and Japan), 1995
  • - First Prize, Sharjah International Biennial, 1997
  • - Selection Committee Prize, Cairo International Fine Art Biennial, Cairo, Egypt, 1996
  • - Honored by the Ministry of Culture (Al-Assad Library Hall, Damascus) 1999

Abdullatif Al Smoudi Art Award

The idea of ​​the competition revolves around inviting young artists to express their creativity on different topics in all dimensions and vocabulary, using what they deem appropriate from techniques to raw materials to complete their artistic work. The contest is held every two years and is judged by a group of esteemed artists.
The competition aims to motivate young artists of both sexes to unleash their artistic energies and participate in the service of their community through the expression of various artistic means in the fields of photography, sculpting, and engraving. In addition, the contest enhances the spirit of competition among applicants, thereby motivating them and translating the titles and themes of their submitted works into distinct and memorable works of art.