The first Maldivian Art Exposition ever to be held in the UK is going to take place from mid-December 2009 to mid-January 2010.

In affiliation with Royal Commonwealth Society and the High Commission of the Maldives in London the exhibition will produce a wide range of canvas paintings from three different Maldivian Artists who are prominent in their fields in the Maldives.

Some of the work will focus on a continuous tradition where as others are a departure from a traditional sense. Some depict the fragility of the natural environment of the Maldives while other works of art had been undertaken by the respective artist while he was incarcerated in prison for his political opinions by the former autocratic regime.

Samah Ahmed with her first paintings has described her works of art as a combination of both spiritual and emotional experience. According to Samah, Global Warming is a very real and persistent geographical threat faced by all Maldivians. The lack of land and the absence of any living being in her paintings is a stark reminder that she does not have the answer to this burning question.

Out of the three participants, Naushad who is most well-known in the Maldives especially for his political art; has produced some of the most stunning paintings depicting life in Maldives. His abstract style is unique and is deeply influenced by his turbulent career. His paintings are intensely political and reflect the suffering he has experienced as a political activist. Naushad was declared a Prisoner of Conscience by the Amnesty International and some his work reflects the horrors he experienced while in detention.