‘Art Here’ exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi begins in collaboration with Swiss watchmaker
‘Art Here’ exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi begins in collaboration with Swiss watchmaker/node/2572052/lifestyle
‘Art Here’ exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi begins in collaboration with Swiss watchmaker
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This year, five artists were selected to showcase their work under the theme “Awakenings,” with the winning artist to be selected by a jury and announced in December. (AN photo)
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This year, five artists were selected to showcase their work under the theme “Awakenings,” with the winning artist to be selected by a jury and announced in December. (AN photo)
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This year, five artists were selected to showcase their work under the theme “Awakenings,” with the winning artist to be selected by a jury and announced in December. (AN photo)
‘Art Here’ exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi begins in collaboration with Swiss watchmaker
The fourth annual event includes a prize worth $60,000
5 artists selected to showcase their work under theme ‘Awakenings’
Updated 19 September 2024
Dalal Awienat
ABU DHABI: In collaboration with Swiss watchmakers Richard Mille, Louvre Abu Dhabi is hosting the fourth edition of the annual exhibition and competition “Art Here” from Sept. 20 to Dec. 15.
With more than 200 applicants from all over the Arab world, the Art Here award is offering a $60 thousand prize for its winner.
This year, five artists were selected to showcase their work under the theme “Awakenings,” with the winning artist to be selected by a jury and announced in December.
The artists are Sarah Almehairi, Lamya Gargash, Ferielle Doulain-Zouari, Moataz Nasr and Nicene Kossentini.
Emirati artist Gargash interpreted the theme with a giant beach ball sculpture made entirely of sand from the UAE.
Gargash explained that her piece “Debutante Ball” was inspired by a derogatory comment someone made toward her when she was younger, saying the UAE was just a “giant sandbox.”
“I consider it (the art) a response to something that I experienced years ago. A negative comment, a provocative comment that was pointed at me. And I took it to heart,” she said.
“The theme ‘Awakenings’ speaks volumes about transience and finding your way. So for me, it is a rebirth. It’s a renaissance,” she said.
Egyptian artist Nasr decided to give up the field of economics to pursue his passion.
“My mother was an artist. I used to sit with her, watching her where she’s painting. And that was the best thing in my life. Just sitting behind her. Seeing how colors keep mixing until something comes out all of the sudden over there in front of me,” he said.
Nasr describes himself as a history buff and said his work is inspired by Arab history. His piece “Brides of the Sky” tells the story of women during the Mongolian invasion of Egypt.
“What I’m trying to do as an artist is bring a big loop, a magnified loop and put it on things that people can pass by without seeing and tell them: Look, this is your heritage.
“Maybe this is going to awaken something in them and make them understand something about themselves, about the history, the heritage,” he said.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to enthrall audience with sarod recital in Riyadh
Ambassador of India Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan: The Embassy is honored to co-host the upcoming Sarod quintet concert by the legendary musician Amjad Ali Khan in Riyadh
Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan: The strong interest among Saudi friends toward this concert is a testimony to the popularity of Indian music, arts and cinema in the Kingdom
Updated 30 January 2025
Rashid Hassan
RIYADH: The internationally acclaimed sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will give a virtuoso performance of the stringed instrument at the Cultural Palace, Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh on Feb. 6, 2025.
The Embassy of India, in collaboration with the Diplomatic Quarter Office at the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, is organizing the musical performance of “Three Generations, One Melody,” featuring the renowned Indian sarod quintet led by the acclaimed composer Amjad Ali Khan.
Ambassador of India Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan told Arab News: “The Embassy is honored to co-host the upcoming Sarod quintet concert by the legendary musician Amjad Ali Khan in Riyadh. This unique musical performance being organized for the first time in Saudi Arabia is going to showcase the richness of Indian classical music.”
“The strong interest among Saudi friends toward this concert is a testimony to the popularity of Indian music, arts and cinema in the Kingdom that has only become more profound in recent years,” he said.
A few months ago, Indian artists and cultural troupes performed at the ten-day Indian cultural festival at Suwaidi Park in Riyadh under the Global Harmony Initiative of the Saudi government, he said.
“The event was hugely popular among the Saudi guests. Indian art and music always had a huge fan base in Saudi Arabia, and we are happy to see our Saudi friends showing great interest in attending Indian cultural events. This not only shows the strength of our people-to-people ties, but also the immense potential of cultural exchanges between the two countries.”
Speaking to Arab News from India, Amjad Ali Khan said: “I feel very happy, highly honored, that I got the opportunity to perform in Riyadh, to regale the people of Saudi Arabia. I am grateful to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh who made it possible.
“We are invited to the Western world and get a lot of opportunities to perform. Recently the London Philharmonic Orchestra played my composition. I had a concert at the Royal Festival Hall of London.”
The sarod grand master joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert that spanned continents and cultures.
“A Saudi orchestra can also play my composition, ‘Samaagam,’ but it needs to be planned,” he said.
“To perform with your children and grandchildren is only possible with the blessing of the Almighty Allah, and the prayers of fans. I am lucky to perform with our three generations in the concert in Riyadh.”
The sarod grand master was born to a family steeped in Indian classical music and is regarded as one of the icons of the music world, bringing a new and yet timeless interpretation to the playing of the sarod.
The sarod is a fretless stringed instrument with a teak frame, a goatskin soundtable and a metal fingerboard, with six to eight strings as well as additional sympathetic strings. The instrument lends itself to improvization and graceful expression because of the ability of the musician to slide and glide between notes, much like a human voice.
His sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, are virtuoso performers in their own right, and will accompany the sarod grand master at the concert in Riyadh.
‘The Seven Dogs,’ directed by ‘Bad Boys’ filmmakers, begins production in Riyadh
Updated 30 January 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: “The Seven Dogs,” a groundbreaking film for Saudi Arabia starring Egyptian cinema icons Karim Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Ezz, has begun production in Riyadh.
The film is based on a story by Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, with a screenplay by Mohamed El-Dabbah.
The project – directed by the internationally acclaimed duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known for their work on "Bad Boys for Life” – is making waves for its substantial budget, exceeding $40 million, making it the largest Arabic film production to date, according to Al-Sheikh.
Filming is taking place at the newly inaugurated Al-Hisn Big Time Studios in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Sheikh expressed his enthusiasm on social media, writing, “Today marks an important day in my career and in the history of cinema in my country and the Arab world. Today, filming began for ‘The Seven Dogs,’ a story by myself and the Big Time team, with a screenplay by Mohamed El-Dabbah."
This collaboration between Abdel Aziz and Ezz follows their previous successful projects, including “Kira & El Gin.”
The film's plot details remain under wraps, but the combination of a high-profile cast, experienced directors, and a significant production budget has generated considerable anticipation.
A love song to Palestine: ‘Thread Memory’ at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah
Curator Rachel Dedman discusses the show celebrating the ancient art of tatreez
Updated 30 January 2025
Jasmine Bager
JEDDAH: In January, the exhibition “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine” opened at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah. It explores the ancient Palestinian tradition of tatreez; intricate hand embroidery primarily undertaken by women.
Tatreez — a slow, laborious and deliberate practice — is far more than just a decorative art form; it has come to be seen as a symbol of resilience, community and cultural pride. Amid the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, the exhibition celebrates Palestinian stories and creativity.
On Jan. 23, the exhibition “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine” opened at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah. (Supplied)
It is also, curator Rachel Dedman notes, “an opportunity for the Palestinian diaspora in Saudi — which is a huge community — to connect with their own heritage.” And there are, she adds, “really fertile connections to be made, interdisciplinarily, between (Palestinian) embroidery and embroidery from Saudi Arabia.”
The exhibition, which runs until April 17, features more than 30 dresses and multiple accessories — pieces of jewelry, small dolls, a handkerchief, headdresses — plus more than 100 images from the Palestinian Museum. It also includes a display of smartphones showcasing real-time updates from Palestine.
In partnership with the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, “Thread Memory” draws from an extensive archive, emphasizing tatreez as a living art form which is deeply entwined within Palestinian life and tells the stories of generations of people and of shared resistance and hope amid the ongoing violence and threat of erasure.
Rachel Dedman. (Supplied)
Dedman says there are probably as many tatreez variations as there are villages in Palestine. She views it as a way in which its female creators empower themselves, looking to the future when the present might seem unbearable. The dresses mark the milestones of a woman’s life.
In times of displacement, often the women can only take with them the clothes on their back, so there are instances when a garment has been modified to fit different bodies.
The exhibition is also full of textual information.
“There’s beauty in (that), because this is a history that’s being actively erased — or that is under threat of erasure,” says Dedman. “So by offering up a lot of information, I hope maybe there’s some Palestinians in Jeddah who feel more connected to their own history or heritage, who feel seen, who feel represented, who feel able to come to a space and experience the grief that we’re all feeling, acknowledged in this beautiful way.
Some of the dresses actually come from personal collections in Riyadh and Jeddah, Dedman explains. “There’s also a wonderful Syrian dress included; (these are) examples of how, in diaspora, these dresses continue to be deeply meaningful for those who own them,” Dedman explains.
Handmade embroidered ties created by the Association for the Development of Palestinian Camps (INAASH)' (1973), (Courtesy of the Palestinian Museum)
While Dedman is not of Palestinian descent, she is an active and avid supporter of the Palestinian cause, and she sees tatreez is a profound reflection of Palestinian life, resilience and creativity.
“Nobody who has — or practices — tatreez finds it trivial,” she says.
Dedman — a London-based expert in Middle Eastern textiles, has dedicated over a decade to studying tatreez, starting in 2014 with her work for the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, with whom she collaborated for this exhibition. Her previous exhibitions have highlighted tatreez as both an art and a tool of cultural preservation. In addition to her role as the Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Dedman also lectures globally on the intersection of textiles, identity and politics.
“I’m in this position of enormous privilege; I have the passports to travel between Lebanon and Palestine — no Lebanese or Palestinian can do so,” she explains. “And for me, it was really important to not just drop in and interview someone, but to try and forge relationships and bring them in as sort of members.”
Her goal for the Jeddah exhibition is simple. “I’m always excited by the opportunity to bring Palestinian voices into a space. I hope it speaks to people,” she says. “For me, the dresses are almost punctuation amid the love song to Palestine that this exhibition is.”
Elie Saab’s couture escapism finds a new edge in Paris
Updated 30 January 2025
AP/AFP
PARIS: The sounds of spring, with babbling brooks and birdsong, set a serene yet surreal tone Wednesday as Elie Saab unveiled his latest couture collection inside the soaring Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
It was punctuated only by whoops and clicking camera shutters as Eva Longoria swept in.
While the setting evoked pastoral bliss, the collection was a study in high-drama couture, as Saab’s signature opulence met a new architectural precision.
This season, the Lebanese designer, a red carpet mainstay, tempered his signature cascades of embroidery with an almost armor-like structure. Sweeping architectural flourishes curved around shoulders and hips, recalling the grandeur of Art Deco but with a modern sheen. Geometric bands of sparkles reinforced the sculptural intent, carving out silhouettes that felt more commanding than Saab’s typical fluid romance.
Models emerged on three parallel runways framed by classical white arches, wearing gowns dripping with jewels and embroidered feathers that echoed foliage. The effect was cinematic, an invitation into a world of 1920s glamour — Gatsby decadence reimagined with Saab’s unerring eye for fantasy. But in a world of uncertainty, the excess took on a different weight, a reminder that fashion has long been a glittering escape from reality.
Saab’s touchstone aesthetic — luxurious embellishment, silhouette-flattering cuts and red carpet allure — was intact, but there was an added sense of structure, a couture boldness that gave the collection its edge. The designer has never strayed far from his core of femininity and grandeur, yet here was a whisper of something stronger: a woman draped in fantasy, but armored for the future.
Saab was not the only Arab designer to present that day.
Lebanese designer-to-the-stars Zuhair Murad, whose country has been under Israeli bombardment, told AFP that his glamorous collection of long evening wear was inspired by the idea of a tropical island inhabited by goddess-like women.
“The message of this collection is about escaping from our hectic world. I imagined this beautiful island, far from the cities, far from technology, far from the world that we live in right now, a peaceful world,” he said.
Japan’s Drum Tao deliver heart-pounding beats on Saudi debut
Updated 30 January 2025
Jasmine Bager
DHAHRAN: Drum Tao, the internationally acclaimed Japanese drumming ensemble, delivered a heart-pounding performance at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture’s theater on Wednesday night.
Their show at Ithra, titled “The Dream,” is running nightly until Feb. 1, with two performances on Jan. 31.
For over an hour, the audience regularly clapped in unison. With no lyrics, the performance relied entirely on sight and sound to tell its story.
Their show at Ithra, titled “The Dream,” is running nightly until Feb. 1, with two performances on Jan. 31. (Supplied)
The stage lighting shifted throughout, intending to evoke a range of emotions. The interplay of flute and drums created a soundscape that was at once soft and powerful, gentle yet aggressive.
The energy was serene and melancholic, tender and intense, seamlessly blending contrasts. The seemingly chaotic performance was expertly synchronized and at times humorous.
Known for their fusion of traditional wadaiko drumming, modern choreography, and dynamic storytelling, Drum Tao was founded in 1993 in Oita, Japan.
They have performed in more than 500 cities for more than 9 million spectators worldwide.
The shows are part of a 17-day cultural exchange, “Ithra Cultural Days Japan,” which concludes on Feb. 8. (Supplied)
They made their off-Broadway debut in New York to a sold-out audience in 2016 before bringing their performances to Tokyo and Osaka’s most popular nightclubs in 2022 as a part of Club Tao.
Directed by Drum Tao founder Ikuo Fujitaka, the evening at Ithra fused the thunderous beats of taiko drums with the delicate melodies of Japanese flutes and harps.
The choreography — an athletic feat in itself — added another layer of spectacle, making it a true crowd pleaser.
For the audience, the evening was more than just a performance — it was a vivid exploration of Japanese culture.
The shows are part of a 17-day cultural exchange, “Ithra Cultural Days Japan,” which concludes on Feb. 8.
Other Japanese musicians and artists also traveled to Ithra to showcase their talents.
One of them, Kohei Matsumoto, whose performances can be seen at Ithra’s Lush Garden, spoke to Arab News about how Japanese music is fostering cultural exchange and understanding.
“I’m really happy to see (Saudi) Arabian people enjoying Japanese culture through music — people can experience authentic Japanese traditions here (at Ithra’s Japan cultural days),” Matsumoto said.
