Mrs. Abeer A. Aisha took photography courses in the Continuing Education program at Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), which resulted in winning honorable mention prizes in 2013 and 2014 at the 73rd and 74th International Photographic Salon of Japan competitions organized by the All-Japan Association of Photographic Societies and the Asahi Shimbun. She hosted a special photographic exhibition titled “From Japan to Oman: Beauty of the Moment” at the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman from June 4 to 13.
Mrs. Aisha came to Japan in 2008 as wife of the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman. She “wanted to learn something new,” so she signed up for the “Art and Digital Photography” course for three semesters in 2011-2012. “I like to take pictures of children and animals, and used to go to temples and parks nearby with my camera,” she said. “‘Art’ is about expressing ourselves. Whenever the ‘moment’ comes, I click the shutter.”
Last year’s prize-winning piece “Faith” was a shot of her then 10-year-old daughter, Iman (which means “faith” in Arabic). This year, she won another prize with “Reflection“, a shot of a young traveler she met on the road. Shinya B. Watanabe, Associate Professor of Art, who taught her classes, commented, “The themes she chose were very interesting.”
Mrs. Aisha looked back on the courses and said, “After studying photography, I learned to view the world with different eyes. It was a very good experience to get to know classmates with various backgrounds from many different countries. And I was very happy to receive a certificate, too.”
Continuing Education at TUJ offers approximately 300 courses in a wide variety of subjects ranging from art and culture —including photography, interior design, and wine tasting— to languages, business management, education, and IT.