A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene

A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Basmah Felemban’s work takes a closer look at the journey of a species of fish from their own home to the Najd desert. (Abdulrahman Shalhoub)
A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Daniah AlSaleh’s ‘Love Stories’ struck something personal as she reminded people of the beauty and innocence of love. (Abdulrahman Shalhoub)
A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Bashaer Hawsawi’s ‘Early Ripening’ utilizes the symbol of lemons, made from fiberglass of different hues, to demonstrate the process of pickling. (Abdulrahman Shalhoub)
A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Studio Roosegaarde created a mysterious dream-like waterscape across the pond at Salam Park in the artwork titled ‘Waterlicht.’ (Huda Bashatah)
A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Groundbreaking artist and lighting designer Marc Brickman was responsible for light shows for the likes of Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney. (Huda Bashatah)
A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
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Daniah AlSaleh’s artwork ‘Delicate’ uses suspended fragments of mixed media to explore the idea of hierarchy and inequality through a skeptical lens. (Nada Alturki)
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Updated 18 November 2022

A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene

A liminal space: The soft power of Saudi’s growing art scene
  • In this time of great change in Saudi Arabia, and an age of technology, the Kingdom might show us whether art still has the power to influence and shape societies

RIYADH: Art has been known throughout history to reflect, or even elicit, social, cultural and artistic change in cultures. The Renaissance period in Europe beginning in the 14th century, for example, or India’s Bengali Renaissance in the 19th century.

Now, Saudi Arabia, a country that was founded only 90 years ago and is currently undergoing a period of great transformation under its Vision 2030 diversification and development program, finds itself in a liminal, or transitional, space bordered on one side by historical behaviorism and on the other by the dawn of the future. As such, one can only wonder if the Kingdom’s experience will show us whether, in an age of technology, art still has the power to truly influence our societies?

In common with many other aspects of Saudi society, the arts sector is experiencing a period of rapid development and growth. Thanks to the establishment of a variety of arts festivals, increased government funding, the launch of exhibitions, and the introduction of public art installations, the country is slowly embracing, or rediscovering, its own local, traditional art forms, creating new ones, and opening the door to cultural-exchange opportunities by hosting exhibitions of international art.

The second annual Noor Riyadh festival of light illuminated the streets of Riyadh this month, for example. Staged under the auspices of Riyadh Art under the theme “We Dream of New Horizons,” this year’s event was three times bigger than the inaugural festival in 2021, with works by more than 120 local and international artists on display in public spaces at 40 locations across the city.

Architect Khalid Al-Hazani, Riyadh Art’s program director, said the festival aims to create joyful experiences for the people of Riyadh by highlighting the beauty of their city’s natural landscapes and cityscapes.

“The reality of Noor Riyadh 2022 is that through a sense of wonder, the artists are exploring the use of illumination, luminosity and their own encounters with materials as staging relations to otherness and hope in the form of light,” Al-Hazani told Arab News.

The festival therefore looks to a more hopeful future after the trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It imagines a city without borders, art without frames and poses a crucial question: Who is Noor Riyadh for?

“Our main purpose is to reach the widest audience possible, going beyond traditional art audiences to the wider public,” Al-Hazani said.

During this period of transformation in Saudi society, contemporary artists throughout the country are seizing the opportunity to slowly normalize certain ideas that were previously considered controversial by societal standards.

Saudi artist Daniah Al-Saleh said her first exposure to contemporary art was in the early 1990s during a visit to the Venice Biennale. After an undergraduate education in Riyadh that exposed her only to classical, impressionist and modern art, she said she was enlightened by the malleability of artistic expression.

“That just opened doors for me and made me reflect and think about what art can be,” she told Arab News.

Her own artistic practice often utilizes aspects of computing and machine learning to translate abstract ideas into reality. She said she aims to push the boundaries with artworks and installations that combine traditional forms of art such as paintings, with more innovative content such as computer programming code.

One of Al-Saleh’s installations at Noor Riyadh, “Love Stories,” is on display at Oud Square in the city’s Diplomatic Quarter. It examines the traditional resistance to public displays of love and affection in conservative societies.

“There’s this tension and double standard between the things that we know are okay in songs and poetry but not okay in real life,” she said.

Her artwork is comprised of multiple figures, generated by artificial intelligence and projected onto pillars, that lip sync to 26 well-known Arabic love songs that feature lyrics about public declarations of feelings of love. Al-Saleh said the reaction to the work was unexpected.

“I saw people, non Saudis, sitting and smiling, because I translated the lyrics in English,” she said. “For me, as an artist, to see people sitting by an installation for more than five or 10 minutes, it’s a huge deal.

“For the Arab population, they sat and sang with these AI characters; you see them smiling … it’s such a powerful feeling and brings people and communities together.”

Al-Saleh’s second installation at Noor Riyadh, “Delicate,” which is on display in the Jax District, considers ideas of hierarchy and inequality through a skeptical eye. Inspired by the words of Adrienne Maree Brown in her book “Emerging Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds,” the artwork is based on biomimicry: The process of emulating natural elements to solve global problems.

Al-Saleh’s mixed-media work was created using wood, wool, digital computations, paper, canvas and one of the world’s oldest materials, felt, all of which work together, she said, to create a suspended ecosystem of beauty and self-sustainability.

Saudi artist Bashaer Hawsawi said the first step toward bigger changes in attitudes toward art in a society is to encourage greater public engagement with the local art scene.

“The simplest form is photographs of pieces of art on social media,” she said. “It’ll spread around, people will see that this is happening, they’ll talk, ask and want to know more.”

Hawsawi’s work “Early Ripening” adds a private angle to public art. It portrays methods of pickling lemons and was inspired by her own early memories of watching her mother carrying out the process. She said the work aims to highlight the simplicity of everyday tasks in public spaces but also the substantial role they play in local culture. Scattered across the landscape of Wadi Hanifa, the artwork uses fiberglass lemons to depict the pickling process, the products of which are used in some Saudi communities as tonic to aid recovery.

Saudi artist Basmah Felemban told Arab News: “We’re in an interesting position where all of us should talk about all of our experiences, away from necessarily any forced discourse from the international conversations that are happening.”

Felemban’s works explore ideas of ethnicity, immigration and cultural origins, topics traditionally rarely discussed publicly in the region. She said she hopes to spark conversations and answer questions about her own history.

In her work “The Eleventh View of Time,” the viewer observes, through projected images at Wadi Hanifa’s Ringing Bird Lake, the journey undertaken by another species, which has parallels with the artist’s own story of immigration, ethnicity and ancestry, stretching from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia,.

Conversations about cultural diversity are more common in the West, and the artist believes that the Middle East needs to develop its own ways to address these topics “that adhere to our historical backgrounds.”

With the aim of helping to transform the art world from a perceived image of elitism to populism, the artworks at Noor Riyadh are designed to present new ideas and spark cultural discourse on a local and global scale.

“Good art inspires but great art activates,” said contributing Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde.

His artwork “Waterleight,” on display at Salam Park, uses a captivating and mysterious laser show to call attention to the effects of climate change. It shows the potential global results of rising sea levels, against the backdrop of plans for a greener, more sustainable future under Vision 2030.

His native Netherlands, he said, would already be underwater without the application of technology, science and creativity.

“The world is changing, so we have to somehow adapt … I think it’s important to realize that we have to invent, imagine and create that new world — it doesn’t happen by itself — (and) learn from the mistakes that we’ve made,” Roosegaarde said.

Cultural exchange is a crucial element in an evolving art scene, according to renowned artist and lighting designer Marc Brickman, who served as a consultant on the plans for the landmark Al-Faisaliyah building 24 years ago.

Now, he has created a 2,000-drone light show that uses science and technology to encourage us to question our need for order in a chaotic world.

“I think art throughout the ages has always been the leading element because it deals with people’s imaginations and the way they think,” Brickman said.

“And a lot of times they’ve tried to stamp it out and conform it but it always rises back to the top.”


Riyadh charity event collects 50,000 clothing items

Riyadh charity event collects 50,000 clothing items
Updated 02 April 2023

Riyadh charity event collects 50,000 clothing items

Riyadh charity event collects 50,000 clothing items
  • Families from all over Kingdom will have opportunity to get clothes to wear during Eid, Ramadan

 

RIYADH: More than 50,000 clothing items were donated at one of the biggest charity events held in the Kingdom on Friday and Saturday in Riyadh.

The third edition of the Kiswa Project launched 13 clothing market donations in 13 regions of the Kingdom.

The charity event was held at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, in cooperation with the Nubader Club, a group of students at the university who are committed to volunteering and being part of betterment initiatives.

Renad Alzaid, who volunteered as part of the Kiswa crew to help organize the event, said: “Our aim is to distribute the 50,000 clothing items throughout the Kingdom to women, men and children. Anyone who would like to be a part of this should join us.”

Families from all over the Kingdom will have the opportunity to get clothes — of various designs, sizes and colors — to wear during Eid and Ramadan.

Tayseer Abdullah attended the event with her children to pick up clothes that they plan to wear during the month of Ramadan and in Eid celebrations. “I got everything for my family. Some things for the children, for myself and my mother,” Abdullah said.

Abdulrahman Alemam, a Kiswa volunteer, said: “We came in today to support the needy families by helping them and arranging for them the clothes they want to take so they take them in an orderly, faster and smooth manner. It feels incredible to help out.”

Abdulaziz Alshenqity, a Nubader member, said: “Our goal is to bring joy and happiness to the beneficiaries and the needy famlies. Nubader Club was established by students who are enthusiastic about serving the community in order to have a positive impact on society and provide volunteer initiatives for all members of society.”


Dates—beloved jewels of the desert

Dates—beloved jewels of the desert
Updated 01 April 2023

Dates—beloved jewels of the desert

Dates—beloved jewels of the desert
  • A symbol of Saudi hospitality, dates come in a range of textures, colors and levels of sweetness

RIYADH: Dates are an iconic symbol of Saudi Arabia. The fruit represents an integral part of the Kingdom’s hospitality as one is always offered dates and Arabic coffee at home, in the office and at event of all kinds.

It is no surprise that during the holy month of Ramadan, dates are a staple on the iftar table. With more than 200 varieties to choose from, dates come in a range of flavors, textures, colors and levels of sweetness.

Aside from consuming them on their own, dates are used in multiple ways in the kitchen: a filling for the popular and traditional mamool cookie, a natural sweetener for drinks and desserts and garnishing for salad, among other uses. Choosing the right variety will ensure a magical gastronomic experience.

A symbol of Saudi hospitality and an Iftar staple, over 200 varieties of dates are produced in Saudi Arabia and sold at date markets. (SPA)

The significance of dates is also tied to the belief that the Prophet Muhammad broke his fasts with the fruit, thus eating dates in the holy month of Ramadan is a tradition that Muslims have followed for centuries.

Khaled Al-Ramadan, a mechanical engineer, dedicates all of his free time to his date business, Kahraman Dates, in the Eastern Province. “I was born in Al-Ahsa and I have always had palm trees surrounding me. Out of love for agricultural history and my own hobby, I started my date business,” he said.

FASTFACT

The Ajwa date, considered one of the most expensive in the Kingdom, is produced mainly in Madinah, the second holy city in Saudi Arabia. Nicknamed the ‘holy date,’ the black or dark brown Ajwa has a distinct flavor profile.

Al-Ramadan added that he has become acquainted with many people in the date business, whose work he values. “Dates are available everywhere, even in grocery stores. There are dates that are marked at the lowest possible price, SR2-3 ($0.5) a kilo. But a person who can produce a beautiful and luxurious product deserves appreciation and support … we should buy from him and market his production.”

A symbol of Saudi hospitality and an Iftar staple, over 200 varieties of dates are produced in Saudi Arabia and sold at date markets. (Supplied)

Al-Ramadan’s favorite type of date is the Raziz date. The Raziz date is usually served with date molasses and sesame in a traditional dish named safsif. “Any authentic date expert would also tell you that the best date out there is the Raziz date. It has great nutritional value and flavor, even if it’s high in sugar,” he said.

Al-Ramadan told Arab News about four of the most popular Ramadan date varieties in the Kingdom.

Ajwa: The Ajwa date, considered one of the most expensive in the Kingdom, is produced mainly in Madinah, the second holy city in Saudi Arabia. Nicknamed the “holy date,” the black or dark brown Ajwa has a distinct flavor profile. It is slightly sweet and fruity with a prune-like texture and is rich in vitamins.

Khalas: Khalas dates are also considered one of the Kingdom’s premium varieties. It is a dark brown, oval-shaped date with a sweet butter-caramel flavor. “Khalas is most famously associated with the Eastern region in Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahsa tends to produce the highest quantity and quality of the Khalas date. You most certainly will find Khalas dates in every social gathering in the GCC, particularly in Saudi Arabia and UAE,” he said.

Sokari: Al-Ramadan recommends the sought-after Sokari date for a sweet caramel taste. They are considered a great source of fiber and suitable for people with heart conditions. “The word ‘Sokari’ sounds like ‘sugar’ in Arabic. It means ‘the sweet one,’ he said. The variety is popular in the region and the fruit is often referred to as ‘royal dates’,” Al-Ramadan added.

Segai: Segai are two-toned dates that hold different textures: One part of the date is soft and the other is dry and crunchy. Its taste is similar to brown sugar.

 


Saudi esports festival returns with $10m charity prize fund

Saudi esports festival returns with $10m charity prize fund
Updated 01 April 2023

Saudi esports festival returns with $10m charity prize fund

Saudi esports festival returns with $10m charity prize fund
  • Event will also host a women’s tournament for the first time

JEDDAH: The world’s biggest charitable esports festival is returning to the Kingdom for the fourth year with a $10 million charity prize fund, connecting the world of gaming to humanitarian causes around the globe.

Gamers Without Borders is a six-week-long series of events that will be held virtually by the Saudi Esports Federation beginning April 27.

The esports festival offers elite players competition across a wide range of the world’s most popular gaming titles through tournaments that will serve as a qualifier to Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest esports and gaming festival worldwide, which will return for a second year on July 6.

Teams including NIGMA GALAXY will compete for a total prize pool of $2.5 million in the multiplayer tactical first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment. Other teams taking part will be announced later.

This year’s edition will also feature the first-of-its-kind all-women Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, with six teams battling in a single elimination bracket on April 27-29.

HIGHLIGHT

The esports festival offers elite players competition across a wide range of the world’s most popular gaming titles through tournaments that will serve as a qualifier to Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest esports and gaming festival worldwide, which will return for a second year on July 6.

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “It is extremely exciting to announce that Gamers Without Borders’ fourth edition will have an all-women component. One of the best features of gaming and esports is that it provides equal opportunities for everyone without any bias or restrictions.

“We are furthering our commitment to providing an inclusive gaming and esports environment that encourages and supports female gamers from all backgrounds.”

NIGMA GALAXY said: “We are proud to take part in the world’s biggest charitable esports festival and see the tournament expanding its horizons. Hopefully, events like Gamers Without Borders will help pave the way for the further development of women’s esports globally and we’re excited to play for such an important cause.”

In addition to the women’s tournament, the main Counter-Strike: Global Offensive qualifiers will take place on May 16 for Europe and North America, allowing teams to secure a spot at the GWB finals and Gamers8 grand finals.

Prince Faisal added: “Gamers Without Borders paved the way for us to organize Gamers8, the biggest esports and gaming festival worldwide. With Gamers Without Borders, the Kingdom has established the world’s largest charity esports platform and in just three years, the world’s largest charitable Esports festival raised $30 million to support humanitarian aid partners such as Direct Relief, IMC, UNICEF, ITU Gavi, NRC, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and UNHCR.”

After three successful editions that saw more than $30 million donated to COVID-19 relief and vaccine distribution, the festival is aiming to reach a total of $40 million in donations.

Gamers from around the world can support the donation drive through the Gamers Without Borders website.

 


Who’s Who: Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani, CEO of Rua Al-Madinah Holding

Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani
Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani
Updated 01 April 2023

Who’s Who: Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani, CEO of Rua Al-Madinah Holding

Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani

Ahmed bin Wasl Al-Juhani has been CEO of Rua Al-Madinah Holding since February 2022.

The company is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and undertakes development projects in Madinah that feature modern urban planning.

Rua Al-Madinah Holding aims to highlight Madinah’s cultural and urban characteristics, while helping achieve Vision 2030 targets for Hajj and Umrah through its development projects.

Al-Juhani’s executive track record extends across more than three decades, and includes real estate development, construction and facilities management, housing, tourism, hospitality and culture, education, sports facilities, as well as railways, airports, and oil and gas facilities.

He has held numerous leadership positions at major companies and institutions in the Kingdom, Europe and South Korea.

Before joining Rua Al-Madinah Holding, Al-Juhani was CEO of the development and construction sector at the Royal Commission for AlUla, where he served for a year.

He was previously vice president of construction at El-Seif Engineering Contracting.

Al-Juhani also lent his expertise to Saudi Aramco, where he served for 20 years, and the Ministry of Finance, where he supervised various large-scale projects and laid out the strategic framework for future undertakings.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and a master’s degree in engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Al-Juhani has completed Harvard Business School’s real estate management program, as well as several specialized training programs.

 

 


Saudi mission coordinates date distribution program in Helsinki

Saudi Ambassador to Finland Nisreen bint Hamad Al-Shibel was attended the event. (Supplied)
Saudi Ambassador to Finland Nisreen bint Hamad Al-Shibel was attended the event. (Supplied)
Updated 01 April 2023

Saudi mission coordinates date distribution program in Helsinki

Saudi Ambassador to Finland Nisreen bint Hamad Al-Shibel was attended the event. (Supplied)
  • Two tons of premium-quality dates will be distributed among Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, in coordination with the Saudi Embassy in Helsinki, launched King Salman’s date distribution program.

The event was held in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Finland Nisreen bint Hamad Al-Shibel.

Two tons of premium-quality dates will be distributed among Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.

The ministry is implementing the program in 60 countries this year, as an extension of the Saudi leadership’s commitment to address the needs of Muslims and bring them together during the holy month.