Saudi artist serves hot-off-the-press culinary designs at Kingdom’s food festival

One of Jeddah-based artist Ethar Balkhair’s creations at the Saudi Feast Food Festival.  (Supplied)
One of Jeddah-based artist Ethar Balkhair’s creations at the Saudi Feast Food Festival. (Supplied)
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Updated 24 December 2022

Saudi artist serves hot-off-the-press culinary designs at Kingdom’s food festival

One of Jeddah-based artist Ethar Balkhair’s creations at the Saudi Feast Food Festival.  (Supplied)
  • Ethar Balkhair’s distinctive work printed in 10 minutes
  • Dishes from across the nation represented

DHAHRAN: Visitors to the first-ever Saudi Feast Food Festival in Riyadh are in for a special treat as they have a chance to purchase freshly-created merch by Jeddah-based artist Ethar Balkhair.

Balkhair is no stranger to representing Saudi culture in her work. The Dar Al-Hekma University graduate has collaborated with international brands for years including Sephora and Nivea, and TUMI and TUDOR, while always maintaining her Saudi-centric esthetic and contemporary style.




Illustrations created by Saudi artist Ethar Balkhair in collaboration with the Culinary Arts Commission for their Saudi Feast Food Festival. (Supplied)

Her illustrations use saturated color and bold forms to convey a story and a narrative that transcends the page. Her digital drawings usually include men and women without clear facial features so that the illustrations become more inclusive and a better representation of the diversity of the Kingdom and its people.

“The Saudi Ministry of Culture’s Culinary Arts Commission contacted me to collaborate on the first Saudi Feast Food Festival event — which is a big deal. I started creating a concept based on their event, which includes foods from northern and southern Saudi — basically foods from all over the country. My illustrations were all inspired by Saudi foods from the different regions.”

FASTFACT

Ethar Balkhair’s distinctive work printed in 10 minutes.

“They told me ‘we want you to do the merch with your illustrations.’ The idea was to then place them anywhere — on t-shirts, anything. Usually, my art presents cultural elements but in a very contemporary way. The ministry is now going in a more contemporary direction,” Balkhair told Arab News.

Aprons, notebooks, hoodies and t-shirts are available at the shop at the festival.




Illustrations created by Saudi artist Ethar Balkhair in collaboration with the Culinary Arts Commission for their Saudi Feast Food Festival. (Supplied)

While Balkhair admits to being a “better eater than cook,” she appreciated how the festival allowed her to make customers feel like each batch was fresh to order and made by hand.

“A printing company is there at the festival with a silkscreen and they will print my illustration in front of you. You pick your size and the colors you want and in 10 minutes, you’ll get it,” Balkhair told Arab News.

Although she is active on Instagram @ethartariq_art, her account is fully dedicated to her art and thus she was able to stealthily lurk in the background and witness the whole scene unfold, undetected.




Illustrations created by Saudi artist Ethar Balkhair in collaboration with the Culinary Arts Commission for their Saudi Feast Food Festival. (Supplied)

Witnessing customers giddy with excitement with their freshly-printed t-shirt inspired her to make a shift.

In the coming year, the soft-spoken Balkhair hopes to do more in-person collaborations and engage more with art lovers to expand her scope beyond her digital screen.

“I loved seeing people reacting to my work. I was honestly so happy when I attended the first day, people were happy and reacting like ‘ooh!’ It was my first time to get a reaction without them knowing I was there and nobody was trying to flatter me. Nobody even knew I was watching them from afar. It was very nice and it gave me so much confidence,” Balkhair said.

The items are only currently available hot off the press at the festival, which ends on Dec. 29.

For more information on the Culinary Arts Commission, visit their official website at culinary.com.gov.sa. For more on Balkhair’s work, visit her website at https://byethar.com.

 

 


Saudi aid agency distributes 12 tons of food baskets in Bangladesh

Saudi aid agency distributes 12 tons of food baskets in Bangladesh
Updated 9 sec ago

Saudi aid agency distributes 12 tons of food baskets in Bangladesh

Saudi aid agency distributes 12 tons of food baskets in Bangladesh

DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center KSrelief distributed 12 tons of food baskets in three regions in Bangladesh recently, benefiting 3,000 individuals from 500 families. 

The center, meanwhile, continued the distribution of food baskets in Albania as part of the aid project 2023 in the country.

The center also distributed five tons and 600 kg of Ramadan food baskets in the city of Malisheva, in Kosovo, benefiting 100 families from the neediest groups.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Al-Bayez, assistant supervisor-general for operations and programs at KSrelief, met with governor of Yemem’s Al-Jawf region, Maj. Gen. Hussein Al-Aji Al-Awadhi.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of common interest related to humanitarian and relief efforts and the development of the Saudi projects implemented in Yemen.

Al-Awadhi commended the relief and humanitarian aid provided by the Kingdom to needy countries and communities, saying this aid contributed to alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Earlier,  Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, supervisor-general of the center, held talks on Wednesday with Ulugbek Maksudov, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the Kingdom. 


Dental help offered for special needs patients in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region

Dental help offered for special needs patients in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region
Updated 6 min 14 sec ago

Dental help offered for special needs patients in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region

Dental help offered for special needs patients in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region

DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia: The Eastern Health Cluster, a healthcare system in the Kingdom, has provided dental care clinics for patients over 12 years with special needs who were previously lacking access to treatment services.

The provider said: “The obstacles stopping people with special needs from receiving dental care services included [those with] mental health problems, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and Parkinson’s disease.

“More than 950 patients, including 547 males and 409 females, were provided with our services. Furthermore, residents comprehensively treated 92 patients under general anesthesia in the comprehensive rehabilitation center.

“In 2022, around 400 beneficiaries were provided with our services during weekly examination visits.”
 


Padel Classification Championships kick off in Riyadh with $37,000 purse

Padel Classification Championships kick off in Riyadh with $37,000 purse
Updated 17 min 18 sec ago

Padel Classification Championships kick off in Riyadh with $37,000 purse

Padel Classification Championships kick off in Riyadh with $37,000 purse

RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports, launched the Padel Classification Championships in Riyadh on Thursday.

The championships have been organized as part of Riyadh Season, and will help boost sporting activity in the Kingdom and add to the game’s rising popularity.

Padel, a racket sport typically played in an enclosed space slightly smaller than a tennis court, is one of the world’s fastest-growing games.

Prize money for the Riyadh championships totals SR140,000 ($37,000)

The championship includes three tournaments covering three societal categories, the first of which is the men’s championship, with players competing in three categories — A, B and C.

Winners of category A will receive a cash prize of SR35,000, SR20,000 and SR10,000, respectively.

In category B, the winners will win SR7,000, SR4,000 and SR3,000, respectively, while in category C, winners will pocket SR2,500, SR1,500 and SR1,000. 

In the women’s contest, the winners will receive SR10,000, SR7,000 and SR3,000, respectively. 

The third championship is dedicated to the 12-17 age group.
 


Umm Al-Qura University signs deal with 120 companies to serve pilgrims

Umm Al-Qura University signs deal with 120 companies to serve pilgrims
Updated 24 min 6 sec ago

Umm Al-Qura University signs deal with 120 companies to serve pilgrims

Umm Al-Qura University signs deal with 120 companies to serve pilgrims
  • The agreement focuses on implementing quality initiatives for the services provided to pilgrims

MAKKAH: The Institute of Consulting Research and Studies at Umm Al-Qura University has signed an agreement with 120 companies and institutions committed to serving pilgrims inside the Kingdom.

The agreement focuses on implementing quality initiatives for the services provided to pilgrims to help enrich their experience in terms of administration, food, transportation, hotels, reservations, and reception.

It also aims to help workers providing the services during Hajj and Umrah, according to the goals of the Pilgrim Experience Program 2030.

The program’s focus is on maintaining the Two Holy Mosques, preparing tourist and cultural sites, and providing the best services before, during and after the pilgrims’ visits to Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites.
 


Qur’an recitation contest draws melodious voices from across the world

Qur’an recitation contest draws melodious voices from across the world
Updated 32 min 6 sec ago

Qur’an recitation contest draws melodious voices from across the world

Qur’an recitation contest draws melodious voices from across the world
  • Syrian contestant seeks solace in holy book after earthquake tragedy
  • Otr Elkalam is biggest and richest competition of its kind in the world

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s second Qur’an recitation and call to prayer competition, the largest of its kind in the world, continues to inspire Muslims to participate from across the world.

The Otr Elkalam or Perfumed Speech contest, has since last year been the goal of Syria’s Mohammed Al-Jalab, an interior designer, who has been drawing strength from the holy book because of the devastation in his country, according to reports on the websites of the competition and the broadcaster MBC’s Shahid digital platform.

Al-Jalab completed the memorization of the holy Qur’an at 15. He also studied Tajwid, the science of proper pronunciation, and mastered various maqamat, or melodic modes, used during recitation.

The second edition of Otr Elkalam started on March 23, coinciding with the first day of Ramadan.

During Wednesday’s episode, Al-Jalab competed in the Qur’an recitation contest against Morocco’s Zakaria Al-Zirik, who managed to qualify for the next stage of the competition.

In the adhan or call to prayer contest, Syrian contestant Ahmed Darwish, who specializes in electronic production and publishing, competed against Lebanon’s Raheef Al-Hajj, a teacher of maqamat and vocal performances and founder of a specialized academy.

Al-Hajj qualified for the next stage of the competition thanks to the diversity of his maqamat, and his balance between vocal transitions, which dazzled members of the jury.

Otr Elkalam is an initiative of the General Entertainment Authority. It was announced in 2019 offering a total prize pool of SR12 million ($3.2 million).

The first version of the show was broadcast in Ramadan 2022 with the participation of some of the best voices in the world. The competition is on MBC daily at 4:30 p.m., Riyadh time.

More than 90,000 participants from more than 160 countries have now participated in the first and current editions of the competition, in front of a specialized jury.

Over 50,000 entrants were whittled down to 50 for the final stage this year in Riyadh. Another selection process by the main jury left 32 contestants, 16 for each section of the competition.

Applications to take part in this year’s contest began rolling in from Jan. 4 and contestants then went through several online stages of evaluation by 120 jury members.