Chinese art exhibition highlights parallels with Arab culture

Special An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
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An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
Special An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
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An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
Special An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
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An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
Special An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
4 / 5
An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (AN photo by Jafaar Al Saleh)
Special An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (Supplied)
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An art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. (Supplied)
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Chinese art exhibition highlights parallels with Arab culture

Exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art
  • Titled The Writings of Today Are a Promise for Tomorrow, the exhibition hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Culture’s Museums Commission features work from more than 30 artists
  • Curated by Martina Koppel Yang, the exhibition focuses on two elements shared by Arab and Chinese cultures: calligraphy and the garden

RIYADH: A new art exhibition exploring parallels between Chinese and Arab cultures has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art.

Titled “The Writings of Today Are a Promise for Tomorrow,” the exhibition hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Culture’s Museums Commission features work from more than 30 artists.

Curated by Martina Koppel Yang, the exhibition focuses on two elements shared by Arab and Chinese cultures: calligraphy and the garden.

Both cultures regard calligraphy as a significant cultural and spiritual practice, elevating the written word beyond mere communication.

Ibrahim Al-Sanousi, acting CEO of the Museums Commission, emphasized the art museum’s role as a venue for temporary rotating exhibitions rather than a collecting museum. “We aim to integrate contemporary art into everyday life,” he said.

“This exhibition, focused on Chinese artists, is the beginning of a series of collaborations with countries worldwide, aimed at fostering cross-cultural dialogue and international exchange,” he told Arab News.

Artist Dexi Tian shared insights about his creative process, highlighting how he incorporates elements of Saudi culture into his work.

“I use discarded objects that I find during my explorations of the city and desert, reassembling them into new creations that reflect this culture,” he explained.

Wang Du, a Chinese artist residing in France, also spoke about his artwork, saying: “My work doesn’t have a direct connection to Chinese culture; instead, it addresses contemporary media and its impact on society.

“The sculpture you see is made from crumpled newspapers. It symbolizes how we consume news and information in our modern world. Each day, we receive a newspaper, only to crumple it up and toss it aside. This act reflects our habits — while we consume news, it also consumes us in return.”

Wang emphasized the notion of a “throwaway reality,” highlighting how easily we discard information. “Most news is fleeting, and this piece serves as a monument to that short-lived nature of news,” he explained.

The exhibition also explores the connection between the discipline of calligraphy and the natural order found in gardens. In both cultures, gardens are seen as representations of creation — spaces designed for beauty, spirituality, contemplation, and community.

“The Writings of Today Are a Promise for Tomorrow” also conveys aspirations for future dialogues and possibilities, addressing themes of energy flow and synergy. In this context, writing is viewed as a meaningful act of participation and communication.

The exhibition features a thoughtfully designed scenography by Studio GGSV, guiding visitors through thematic stages that explore the dynamics of presence and absence, action and contemplation, memory and imagination.

Visitors will have the chance to view pieces from prominent collections of contemporary Chinese art, such as the Donnersberg Collection and the Dslcollection, alongside site-specific works created in Saudi Arabia.

Notably, the exhibition includes works from French-Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed and Taiwanese artist Michael Lin, both of whom are exhibiting in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

“The Writings of Today Are a Promise for Tomorrow” highlights the ongoing evolution of contemporary art, reflecting cultural energy and bridging the past with the future, embodying the promise of what lies ahead.

The exhibition will run until Jan. 18, 2025, and tickets are available at https://webook.com/en/events/chinese-contemporary-art-exhibition.


Cultural Week in Greece showcases rich Saudi heritage

Cultural Week in Greece showcases rich Saudi heritage
Updated 27 min 16 sec ago
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Cultural Week in Greece showcases rich Saudi heritage

Cultural Week in Greece showcases rich Saudi heritage
  • Program included various events and cultural and artistic activities that showcased the rich Saudi culture across different creative industries
  • Libraries Commission showcased rare Arabic and Islamic manuscripts, demonstrating the beauty of Arabic calligraphy to visitors

MAKKAH: The Saudi Cultural Week was held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 in the Greek capital, Athens by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Commission to familiarize visitors with Saudi traditions and customs.

The program included various events and cultural and artistic activities that showcased the rich Saudi culture across different creative industries.

Abdulrahman Almutawa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, told Arab News that the Culinary Arts Commission also participated to introduce traditional Saudi dishes and Saudi coffee to visitors, highlighting the authenticity and hospitality of the Saudi community.

The participation aimed to introduce Saudi culture and heritage to the international community.

The Libraries Commission showcased rare Arabic and Islamic manuscripts, demonstrating the beauty of Arabic calligraphy to visitors.  

Its participation was in cooperation with the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Global Center for Arabic Calligraphy Initiative, with Saudi calligraphers showcasing their creativity in calligraphy and inscriptions that reflect the beauty of the art form.

The Fashion Commission displayed traditional Saudi clothes, presented an exhibition that reflected the creativity of Saudi designers in fashion, introduced Saudi fashion and its diverse aesthetics, and screened Saudi short films.

The Music Commission presented performances by Saudi musicians using traditional musical instruments, while the Theater and Performing Arts Commission featured various traditional performances from different regions of the Kingdom.

The Heritage Commission set up an archeological tent for visitors to learn about Saudi cultural heritage, treasures, and prominent traditional games in the Kingdom. 

The Culinary Arts Commission provided a live cooking demonstration to prepare the Kingdom's most famous traditional dishes, featuring Saudi food products.

Almutawa indicated that a pavilion was dedicated to the Year of the Camel initiative, which aimed to highlight the importance of camels and introduce visitors to their historical and cultural role in Arab and Saudi heritage.


REVIEW: ‘His Three Daughters’ is a gloriously bumpy ride

REVIEW: ‘His Three Daughters’ is a gloriously bumpy ride
Updated 28 September 2024
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REVIEW: ‘His Three Daughters’ is a gloriously bumpy ride

REVIEW: ‘His Three Daughters’ is a gloriously bumpy ride
  • Though it starts off on the pretentious side, this New York City-set drama comes good in the end

LONDON: Viewers beware: the first two thirds of Netflix’s “His Three Daughters” is a Very Serious Film full of Very Serious Acting from a trio of Very Gifted Actors.

This tense, claustrophobic family drama tells the story of Katie, Christina and Rachel — played by Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Natasha Lyonne, respectively — who return to the family home to look after their ailing father during his last days, butting heads on everything from groceries to life choices.

And writer-director Azazel Jacobs wants us all to know just how Very Serious it all is — so he has his cast speak and move like very accomplished thespians straight out of a critically lauded stage play.

So we learn all about the three women and their relationships with each other, and their father, from wildly gesticulated one-sided phone conversations, impassioned exposition dumps, and spectacularly articulate jibes they launch at one another.

“His Three Daughters” is on Netflix. (Supplied)

But it is the last third of the movie, when the three women must deal with the inevitable, that this goes from being a Very Serious Film to an actually great one.

Coon, Olsen and Lyonne all lean into the slightly caricatured roles they have established thus far, and all of a sudden, “His Three Daughters” becomes a sweet, heartbreaking, bitterly acerbic and wonderfully nuanced examination of an ever-shifting family dynamic that is more layered and relatable than the first hour of runtime ever hinted at.

Coon and Olsen make for good extremist foils — they sit at differing ends of the sister spectrum, one serious and efficient, the other laidback and irritatingly holistic.

But it is Lyonne’s Rachel who really makes the final act sing, bursting with approachable spikiness and disarming wit, all while visibly trying to keep it together while her world falls apart.

Jacobs has opted to shoot the movie on film, in a real location, both of which give “His Three Daughters” a visceral, lived-in feel that only adds to that sense of claustrophobic, sinking dread that their father’s life is coming to an end.

Forgive this movie its overwrought first hour and settle in for a final act that is as good as anything else that has been released this year.


Peace and pottery: women-only workshops in Riyadh a haven for creativity and wellness

Workshops at Terracotta Studio, located in the Al-Yasmin district of northern Riyadh, are exclusively held for women. (AN photo)
Workshops at Terracotta Studio, located in the Al-Yasmin district of northern Riyadh, are exclusively held for women. (AN photo)
Updated 28 September 2024
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Peace and pottery: women-only workshops in Riyadh a haven for creativity and wellness

Workshops at Terracotta Studio, located in the Al-Yasmin district of northern Riyadh, are exclusively held for women. (AN photo)
  • Terracotta Studio in Riyadh offers courses for all abilities
  • ‘The turnout has been tremendous,’ owner Ghada Al-Malki says

RIYADH: Terracotta Studio, a women-only pottery space, is shaping more than just clay. Run by Ghada Al-Malki, the venue offers women the chance to explore pottery as both an art form and a therapeutic escape.

Al-Malki said her experience studying psychology helped her to see the benefits of handicrafts, which she described as “a form of therapy.”

Workshops at Terracotta Studio, located in the Al-Yasmin district of northern Riyadh, are exclusively held for women. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

Her interest in crafting began with beading but later expanded to pottery.

“When I worked with beads, I felt: Wow! So I thought I must learn another craft. I learned pottery and once I did I opened the studio.”

I thought people needed to experience what I went through and see how pottery helps release negative energy, which is what we need in today’s world.

Ghada Al-Malki

It was that feeling of excitement and exhilaration that she wanted to share.

“I thought people needed to experience what I went through and see how pottery helps release negative energy, which is what we need in today’s world.”

(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

Located in the Al-Yasmin district of northern Riyadh, Terracotta Studio offers a variety of pottery workshops for all abilities.

“The studio is exclusively for women, so they can feel comfortable,” Al-Malki said.

“We have pottery workshops where I teach them how to make cups, plates, or paint the pieces we’ve made. Painting itself is an art.”

(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

She said the response she had received was beyond her expectations.

“Honestly, I was really surprised … The turnout has been tremendous, which shows that we really need a space to release our energy.”

She said some of her customers had even said they had been sleeping better after attending her classes.

(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

“The most satisfying part of running this studio is when a customer leaves happy and comes back to tell me: ‘Ghada, thank you, I really enjoyed it.’

“Sometimes people contact me later and say: ‘Ghada, I truly felt like I had the best sleep in a long time; I feel much more relaxed.’ That feeling wipes away all the exhaustion at the end of the day.”

While the studio might be great at helping her clients to unwind, running it was not always easy, Al-Malki said.

(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

“The biggest issue we face is real estate. Rental prices are high and raw materials are not available in Saudi Arabia, so they are expensive for us. But, thank God, we try to manage the challenges as much as we can.”

Al-Malki said she hoped to expand the studio’s offerings in the future.

“I aim to create spaces specifically for children. You cannot imagine how much children need this craft and playing with clay.”

As well as its regular workshops, Terracotta Studio hosts exhibitions where students can display their work.

 


Coldplay adds fourth Abu Dhabi show

Coldplay adds fourth Abu Dhabi show
Updated 27 September 2024
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Coldplay adds fourth Abu Dhabi show

Coldplay adds fourth Abu Dhabi show
  • Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna will open for the band in the Emirati capital

DUBAI: British supergroup Coldplay has once again responded to increasing fan demand by adding a fourth show in Abu Dhabi.

The band will now perform their hugely successful “Music of the Spheres World Tour” on Jan. 9, 11, 12 and 14 at Zayed Sports City Stadium.

Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna will open for the band.

The 22-year-old has been a frequent collaborator of the group this year, joining the band on stage at their Glastonbury set. Last week, she released the Arabic edition of the band's new song “We Pray.” On Saturday, she performed with Coldplay in Las Vegas.

Promoters Live Nation Middle East confirmed Abu Dhabi will be the only stop in the region for the band.


Saudi artist Heba Ismail: ‘I see so much beauty in Arab culture in general’ 

Saudi artist Heba Ismail: ‘I see so much beauty in Arab culture in general’ 
Updated 27 September 2024
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Saudi artist Heba Ismail: ‘I see so much beauty in Arab culture in general’ 

Saudi artist Heba Ismail: ‘I see so much beauty in Arab culture in general’ 
  • The Saudi artist discusses ‘Hebaism,’ the term she has coined for her Picasso-influenced practice 

DUBAI: Saudi artist Heba Ismail doesn’t lack ambition. “I want to be the second Picasso — the female Picasso,” she tells Arab News.  

Born and raised in Jeddah in the Nineties, Ismail, who is also a qualified dentist, grew up in a household that valued art. Her father had lived in both Egypt and England and happily passed on his knowledge of art and history to his two children.  

In their home, there was a copy of the famed Spanish artist Pablo Picasso’s 1937, black-and-white masterpiece “Guernica” — based on the devastating bombings of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War. It left a strong impression on the young Ismail.  

Heba Ismail, 'Alyah.' (Supplied)

“‘Guernica’ is so scary for a child,” she says. “We had a huge replica of it in our living room, taking over nearly half of the wall. I used to stare at it — and you can see and feel the fear in it. But, in a way, I also used to see beauty in it.” 

Picasso’s radical cubist art has been a major influence on Ismail’s own practice, which she refers to as “Hebaism.” And despite the increasingly negative reports, and opinions, of the late Spanish artist as a person, Ismail is still inspired by his painting. 

“I feel that all of us are full of flaws,” she says. “If you’re going to dig deep into any role model in history, you’re going to find a lot of bad stuff about them; I know Picasso was controversial (because of) how he treated women. 

'Floral man.' (Supplied)

“I love being a pioneer — being the first one to do something. I love that Picasso made his cubism art movement. It was so out-of-the-box and that’s what I admire about him,” she continues. “He was creating something out of nothing. When realist artists made art, they drew something as they saw it — it already existed. Picasso drew something out of nothing. It was a form of creation.”   

Ismail works mostly with painting, producing maximalist, thick-lined, angular portraits of people often dressed in traditional Saudi (and Arab) clothing or featuring local props and motifs, such as scarves and coffee cups.  

“I am very proud of my Saudi heritage,” she says. “I see so much beauty in Arab culture in general. I want my work to speak to all Arabs, not just Saudis.” 

On closer inspection, many of Ismail’s works can be read as psychological studies too, exuding tension and confusion.  

'Shamikh.' (Supplied)

“When I’m painting, I try to create characters out of nothing. I want something that is not from reality, something from another realm. That’s why I respect Picasso’s art. He’s not painting something he is seeing; he’s painting something he is feeling,” she explains. “Art pieces shouldn’t tell you how to think, they should tell you how to feel. When people perceive my art, I want it to help them process their feelings. It’s kind of therapeutic in a way.  

“I consider my art as my personal diary,” she continues. “Some of my paintings are close to my heart, telling a personal story of a traumatic experience or a feeling — either joy or sadness — that I had. A person’s life is not going to be all rainbows and butterflies.”  

Ismail divides her time between art and medicine, two opposite fields that fascinate her. “I lose track of time and I’m always happy painting. Unlike dentistry, I don’t consider it work,” she says. “I always had a knack for art. I loved to draw in school books and I used to do graffiti in school. I’ve wanted to be an artist since I was a baby, but I had to have another career. 

'Autumn leaves.' (Supplied)

“I loved medicine as well. There’s a weird connection between art and medicine: Leonardo da Vinci used to do anatomical drawings. I chose dentistry because it’s a skill that I can do with my hands. I love working with my hands. I felt there was something artistic about dentistry, which requires delicate and artistic hands. When I was studying dentistry, I put art to the side, but even my notebooks were full of sketches.”  

As a youngster, Ismail attended art classes at Darat Safeya Binzagr, a multi-purpose and influential cultural center in Jeddah founded by Saudi artist Safeya Binzagr, who died this month. “May she rest in peace,” says Ismail. “She truly was the only one who was thinking about nurturing artistic talent for Saudis.”  

Heba Ismail. (Supplied)

Ismail’s work will next be publicly shown in a group show, “Modernity Roots,” which runs at the Bilory ArtHaus in Jeddah from Sept. 29 to Nov. 15. She is making a name for herself in the Kingdom with her works (which she describes as “not for everyone, not everyone will understand them”), which have been purchased by Saudi clients and attracted the attention of brands keen to work with her, including major fashion retailer Shein and luxury manufacturing company Kohler. But her ambitions stretch far beyond the boundaries of her homeland. 

“Honestly, I want to put my art on the map, worldwide. I want my paintings to be in the auction houses Christie’s, Philips and Sotheby’s,” she says. “I don’t consider it a dream, but a goal. I want to make history as a Saudi woman.”