Basma was born to parents from the Qasim province, central Saudi Arabia. Raised and educated in Jeddah, she was always fully aware of her tribal, nomadic ancestry. The desert and the sea had a huge impact on her developing aesthetic sensibilities, and her respect for local tradition fuelled her growing interest in a wider culture. Spoken poetry was an ancient nomadic art form with a strong presenc
e in her environment and her identity was linked to imagination and creativity from an early age. She also hoped to have an impact on the world, becoming a member of many charities, both locally and internationally. Above all, Basma was keen to establish intellectual and artistic links between east and west. She gained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in Jeddah and, some years later, took the diploma course in modern and contemporary art at Christie’s. Her fascination with collecting began during the eighties when she started to acquire antiques and fine art objects. By the early nineties, her interest had expanded to include the Orientalist art - mythological and historical painting - which is much appreciated in Saudi culture. A love of international travel, true to her nomadic roots, brought Basma into contact with contemporary art and she began to collect by instinct, her first acquisition, a David Hockney, was bought in New York before she even really knew the identity of the artist. Wandering the globe and absorbing so much contemporary art opened Basma’s mind to a new language and different modes of thought; she became compelled to look beyond the static and pictorial, past the ‘what you see is what you get’ aspect of traditional art. She relished the challenge and began to collect in earnest, bringing home to Saudi works by Frank Stella, David Mack, Renier Fetting and Luciano Castelli.
“I was buying art all over the place, wherever I saw it,’ she says. ‘I started to look into exhibitions and museums, and the first contemporary show to blow my mind was Charles Saatchi’s Sensation (1997) at the Royal Academy, London.”
The Young British Artists (Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Jake & Dinos Chapman et al) had a huge impact on the international art scene, and Sensation established London as the new centre for the practice and presentation of contemporary art. It was this watershed moment that really inspired Basma, as an art collector, to make the city her base. She started to build a collection from that moment forward, as opposed to merely ‘buying’ art. She has been based in London since the year 2000.
“It became an obsession. Once you’re drawn to a piece, you fall in love with it and the collector’s drive is a euphoric feeling.”
In 2003/4, Basma started looking into Chinese contemporary art.
“It was different, full of contradictions; they had a story to tell.”
Travelling all over China, visiting artists’ studios and young galleries, Basma bought from artists such as Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Huan.
“After spending time in China, I came to understand more about their art and where it comes from; the way it expresses the history and struggles of a nation. Their art is a mirror of what they have gone through, from emperor rule through wars, civil unrest and the Cultural Revolution to the present day.”
She only buys work she loves;
“My collection is very much me, I have no curator.”
It is the personal joy Basma has derived from her collection that drives her desire to share it with others, particularly in light of its international character. Some collectors favour a certain nationality, but Basma’s collection is pan-global, providing a real overview of contemporary sculpture, painting, installation and photography. At the same time, she is a champion of young Saudi artists and keen to show their work in a wider context.
“I want to share my vision with other people. By embracing technology, we can make the collection available, all over the world, to as many people as possible. To be able to show an international collection in a global forum, this is the future”
