‘Souk Wonders’ to give final performances as show nears end
Ghada Sheri: ‘We have been doing it for a month now and we have done 33 shows and it’s been amazing’
Sheri: ‘I get to sing to people every day and see their reactions and I share the stage with amazing performers’
Updated 17 sec ago
Lama Alhamawi
RIYADH: Diriyah Season’s “Souk Wonders,” featuring trampolines, circus acrobatics, musical entertainment, balancing acts, and a variety of culinary experiences will come to a close on Friday.
“We have been doing it for a month now and we have done 33 shows and it’s been amazing — honestly, I love it here and I am really sad for it to be over,” Ghada Sheri, a singer and songwriter, told Arab News.
“I get to sing to people every day and see their reactions and I share the stage with amazing performers as well so that has been amazing,” she said.
“Souk Wonders” features traditional Najdi architecture, tents, a majlis, and an oversized marketplace scale that spins as guests are seated on it.
The performances kick off with a daring show featuring performers jumping off the edges of the traditional Najdi structures towards the crowd and onto a trampoline.
The routines come back-to-back, leaving audience members anticipating which way to turn next.
Carina Pires, a nurse from Portugal, has lived in the Kingdom for 12 years, and attended “Souk Wonders” with her friends.
“It’s been amazing. We have just been mesmerized. We don’t know where to look, it’s been so many things with so many emotions, it’s really good,” Pires told Arab News.
“It was amazing, I have been experiencing things here that I didn’t in my country,” she added.
When asked what her favorite part of the show was, Pires said: “Everything was amazing, I cannot point to one, it was everything.”
A unique feature of “Souk Wonders” is the currency. Although real money can be used, visitors are taken back in time as they are presented with gold Diriyah Season coins to make their purchases.
For example, a water bottle would cost guests 1 coin, with each coin valued at SR5 ($1.33). A regular ticket gives visitors 18 coins, and the platinum ticket allows for 24.
Along with live performances, “Souk Wonders” has restaurant and cafe booths that feature unique dishes that pay tribute to traditional flavors with modern-day twists all crafted by Saudi chefs especially brought in to design the menu for the event.
Saudi chef Samira Jan was the mind behind the Sand of Zaatar booth, featuring flavors from the Levant region, including a Palestinian musakhan tart as well as a sweet Syrian basbousa tart.
Other Saudi-crafted creations included soft drinks and mixed mocktails at Al Bar booth.
One unique feature of “Souk Wonders” is the interactive performances from the actors of the who remained in character throughout whilst interacting with guests.
“Souk Wonders” will put on its final shows on Feb. 28 at 7:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. and then at 10:45 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. in Venue before coming to a close for Ramadan.
Saudi contemporary artist Manal AlDowayan discusses collaborative performance piece
Updated 27 February 2025
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: Saudi contemporary artist Manal AlDowayan unveiled her latest work, “Thikra: Night of Remembering” at the AlUla Arts Festival in late January.
The site-specific dance piece, designed by AlDowayan in collaboration with renowned English dancer and choreographer Akram Khan — who is of Bangladeshi descent — and residents and artisans from AlUla, was one of the festival’s main highlights. It will now go on to be adapted for various theaters around the world.
The dance pays homage to the long line of civilizations that have inhabited the land around AlUla over centuries. (Supplied)
AlDowayan told Arab News: “The fact that it’s a fictional story, not tied to a specific time or civilization — it could be none or all at once — makes it something people can easily connect with. There’s a mix of cultures, stories, symbols, and rhythms. Of course, the AlUla landscape had a big influence, along with the collaboration with local musicians, dance elements, crafts, and symbols, but there are also essential elements from other cultures around the world, especially traditional Indian dance reimagined through Akram’s performance, and sound elements from various cultures and even from nature.”
Over the past few years, AlDowayan has gravitated towards exploring the idea of “othering” in her practice. As she has become more well-known internationally, she says, she’s looking to open up conversations to bridge cultures.
And she is no stranger to responding to AlUla’s landscape in her work: she’s showcased in the historic city as part of Desert X with her artwork “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” and staged a show titled “Their Love is Like All Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths,” and a participatory exhibition titled “Oasis of Stories: Manal AlDowayan and the People of AlUla” with over 1,000 community participants for Wadi AlFann.
“Thikra” was inspired by, among other things, AlDowayan’s memories of gathering around a campfire under the starlit sky to tell stories. The performance took place on a circular stage between cliffs.
“Thikra” was inspired by, among other things, Manal AlDowayan’s memories of gathering around a campfire under the starlit sky to tell stories. (Supplied)
“The audience sits around on traditional Sadu weaving carpets, occupying one half of the circle, while the community occupies the other. In the center, the dancers perform a story about ancestral knowledge,” AlDowayan said.
The dance pays homage to the long line of civilizations that have inhabited the land around AlUla over centuries, as evidenced by the symbols engraved on rock formations and its varied architecture.
“I incorporated some of these symbols into the costumes and props to represent the overlapping of different timeframes and the coexistence of rituals and traditions,” AlDowayan explained.
She based the color pallet of the fabric on the tones of the surrounding landscape and culture; the sandy beige, the red-brown of henna, the pink rocks, night black, and the green of small plants that “emerge between the sand, almost as an act of resistance,” she said.
AlDowayan worked with the Madrasat Addeera School of Arts and Crafts to produce local, natural pigments for the fabric, adding to her longstanding tradition of collaborating with local artisans.
The collaboration with Madrasat Addeera had two main aspects: design and fabrication.
The site-specific dance piece was designed by Manal AlDowayan in collaboration with renowned English dancer and choreographer Akram Khan. (Supplied)
In a participatory workshop with the students, she presented her vision for the visual direction, portrayals of different characters, and her incorporation of local symbology and storytelling in the project. She was also keen to represent the community directly on stage through their designs.
She said: “I encouraged them to work with these symbols — ones deeply present in their daily lives and crafts — and together we brainstormed the designs. Their input and self-representation was an essential aspect to me.
“They created more than 50 flag designs, incorporating traditional techniques such as palm weaving, Sadu, embroidery, and clay. The results were incredibly creative and beautiful. I selected a set of designs and slightly reworked them to fit the overall vision.”
Her studio then commissioned the school to make the flags. “Many of the school’s studios and senior crafters worked together to bring them to life,” AlDowayan said. “I am honored to bring to the global stage not only local stories, but also their own traditional crafts.” Members of the community then paraded these flags as part of the performance.
AlDowayan described working with Khan as a “gift,” saying: “I have followed and admired his work for a long time. So when I received the invitation to collaborate with him, I was thrilled — but I also wondered how open the creative process would be.
“From our first research visit to AlUla, the creative connection between us was instant. We immediately understood each other’s vision and actively collaborated on all aspects of the performance with openness and trust, I think because we both admire each other’s work.”
Forty local participants of all ages volunteered via open call to work with Khan’s legacy team Jumana Al-Refai and Bilal Allaf, who led community movement workshops. They eventually became part of the performance.
The narrative of the show is “based on the idea that without a past, there is no future. It’s a call for remembrance, told through the story of a community of women and how they preserve and pass down ancestral knowledge,” AlDowayan said. “This is something I first realized during my early visits to AlUla. My education ignored the ancient civilizations of this region, and when these historical sites were finally opened to the public, I was suddenly exposed to all this knowledge through the architecture and rock inscriptions. It was incredibly inspiring to learn that we have deep roots and to discover the traditions, symbols, and way of life of those who came before us.”
Meet Saudi-Irish DJ-producer Moving Still ahead of the release of his new EP
Jeddah-born Jamal Sul talks to Arab News ahead of the release of his new EP
Updated 27 February 2025
Jasmine Bager
JEDDAH: DJ-producer Jamal Sul, aka Moving Still, was raised in Jeddah by a Saudi father and Irish mother, and his music combines both sides of his heritage.
At 14, he moved to Dublin, a shift that shaped both his identity and musical journey. Now, after a decade in the industry, he’s making waves internationally.
“For every song that I’ve ever recorded, I always try to embody an emotion—whether it’s unconditional love, fear or excitement,” he tells Arab News. “Most of the time, I never really get a chance to explain the emotion in a song — it just happens through people dancing.”
The birth of his daughter last year profoundly influenced Sul’s latest EP, “Close to the Shams,” which will be released March 7. On it, he captures the intense emotions of parenthood and the quiet heartbeat of his child, which he used as inspiration. “The first time I got to hold my daughter in my own house, she was just sleeping on me and I had my earphones on. I could sense her heartbeat,” he says. “Weirdly, there’s a lot of studies about how your heart rate can influence your child’s and vice versa. So I feel like I captured that moment in song, and it was really nice.”
It was Sul’s mother who first got him into dance music, sparking his deep connection to house and disco beats. “I was very lucky that my mom was very, very into music,” he says. “I remember (her) cassettes, is like ‘Now 41’ or ‘Now 42’ — basically all the (chart toppers) for dance music. A lot of the stuff I make now is nearly resembling this era.”
He also has a love for rock, inherited from his Irish uncles. “I listened to (Led) Zeppelin, Jimi (Hendrix), Korn, Slipknot, all those type of bands,” he says. “But even though I liked rock music, I still had this feeling towards dance music; it was kind of like a guilty pleasure, the same with pop music — like Backstreet Boys.”
His father also shaped Sul’s diverse taste, being a fan of Bob Marley and Michael Jackson, as well as Arab artists. But Sul says his father’s relationship with music was complicated.
“My father was in and out of music; either he loved it or hated it. And I don’t blame him; he had a very tough upbringing. His father was quite religious — he was an imam. So obviously (my father) was very torn between the life of what people would like in the West versus his actual life.”
That’s not a struggle Sul has faced. Music is a constant in both his personal and professional life. He works in the field of immunology, and while his day job is rooted in science, music remains his own way of healing and expression.
His sound spans genres, blending house, disco and Arabic influences. “When people ask what kind of music I make, it’s so hard to pinpoint,” he says. “It’s a mix of genres.”
His tracks have gained support from respected industry figures like Palms Trax, Hunee and Laurent Garnier, and he has performed at the likes of Boiler Room and Electric Picnic. Mixmag named him among its Ones to Watch for 2025.
His first EP, “Ouddy Bangers,” was heavily inspired by the scent of oud — the dark resin of the agar tree. “In order to write the music, I would put oud on my hands, just to experience that full memory of my granny’s house. I couldn’t believe that a smell could ignite that type of memory so quickly,” he says. The EP was a success, and spawned a second volume.
In 2024, Sul hosted ‘Sukar,’ an event of contemporary Arabic music. “I wanted to showcase our beautiful culture,” he says. He plans to take the idea further with Klub Sukar this April, inviting international acts to Ireland while providing opportunities for emerging artists — especially young Arabs.
Sul’s moniker, Moving Still, was inspired by his hometown. “I used to love swimming and snorkeling and I used to see a lot of jellyfish there,” he says. “I remember my wife asking what I wanted to be called and I was, like, ‘Something about jellyfish really resonates with me, because it reminds me of Jeddah.’ I just really love that they’re moving all the time, but they almost look like they’re still. That’s what generated the name. I wanted to have something that was like a love letter to Jeddah.”
Cheetah, lion and buffalo sculptures unveiled in Riyadh park
Italian sculptor partners with Riyadh Art and Italian embassy to bring contemporary art to public park
Installation aims to bring attention to conservation efforts for species that were once prevalent in the region
Updated 26 February 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Striking animal sculptures were unveiled in Riyadh’s Al-Nafal Park in the Diplomatic Quarter in a collaboration between Riyadh Art and Italian artist Davide Rivalta.
The installation features depictions of a cheetah, lion, lioness and buffalo, and was created in partnership with the Italian Embassy.
Under the theme, Echoes of Land, the sculptures encourage public engagement and contemplation of environmental and cultural heritage.
Omar Al-Braik, senior director of public art at the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, said that the collaboration with Rivalta was an “enriching process.”
“Art has the power to transform public spaces, spark conversations and connect people with their surroundings in ways that are both profound and unexpected,” he said.
“By bringing Rivalta’s work to Riyadh, we continue to expand the city’s artistic landscape, ensuring that diverse voices and creative perspectives are accessible to all.”
This installation also brings attention to conservation efforts, particularly for species such as the cheetah, which once thrived in the Arabian Peninsula.
By introducing these sculptures to Riyadh, Rivalta’s work serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between human development and natural ecosystems.
Born in 1974, Davide Rivalta is renowned for his striking, life-sized sculptures of animals, distinguished by their raw, textured surfaces.
Rivalta’s sculptures have been exhibited in cities across the world, with this latest installation marking his first contribution to Riyadh Art’s public art program.
Since its launch in 2019, Riyadh Art has installed in excess of 550 public artworks, engaged more than 500 local and international artists, and hosted 6,500 community engagement activities, attracting 9.6 million visitors and spectators.
One significant initiative by Riyadh Art is the recent Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium, in which 30 sculptures were created in live sessions, and will be displayed at public spaces around the city.
The organization’s efforts contribute to Saudi Vision 2030’s goal of enhancing culture and creativity in the Kingdom.
Films backed by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Foundation triumph at Berlinale
Updated 26 February 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Three films supported by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Foundation — “Tetes Brulees,” “The Heart is a Muscle,” and “Yalla Parkour” — were honored with awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, also known as Berlinale.
“The Heart Is a Muscle” was awarded the prestigious Ecumenical Jury Prize in the Panorama section. The film follows Ryan, whose five-year-old son briefly goes missing at a barbecue. His violent reaction to the incident sets off a chain of events, unearthing long-buried secrets and sparking a journey of self-discovery.
“Yalla Parkour” won the Panorama Documentary Audience Award (Second Prize). In her debut feature, filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter returns to Gaza, a place she first visited at age four with her Palestinian mother. After her mother's passing, a deep nostalgia for her homeland resurfaces when she comes across a video of young men in Gaza practicing parkour amid the chaos of explosions.
“Tetes Brulees” received a Special Mention for Best Film in the youth-focused Generation 14plus category. The film tells the story of 12-year-old Eya, who struggles to cope with the sudden loss of her older brother, Younes. Through resilience and the support of Younès' friends, she navigates the intense grieving process.
Additionally, “The Sun Sees Everything,” a new film in development by Wissam Tanios and produced by Christian Eid, won the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
REVIEW: Oscar-nominated ‘No Other Land’ is a bitter tale of occupation
Updated 26 February 2025
Gautaman Bhaskaran
CHENNAI: In the running for the Best Documentary Feature at next week’s Academy Awards, “No Other Land” is a gripping work directed by a collective of four Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers.
Helmed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the film marks their directorial debut and follows the story of Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, as he fights against the mass expulsion of his community by Israeli forces. Since childhood, Adra has documented the demolition of homes and displacement of residents in his region under military occupation.
It is not sensationalist, it is not overdramatic, but it is as powerful as they come. The documentary traces everyday life in an area where generations of farming men and women have been resisting not only Israeli control but also the violence unleashed upon them by its military forces and settlers.
The documentary begins in 2022, with an Israeli court ruling in favour of eviction and a lot of the 95-minute work captures details of the misery brought about by the occupation in Arabic and Hebrew. There is graphic footage of homes being razed to the ground and operators going about their ruthlessness with faces that show not even a trace of remorse. Families with babies have to take refuge in caves, members huddled against each other trying to create a bit of warmth in the biting cold. “We have no other land, that's why we suffer for it,” says an old woman whose home has been destroyed. Later, her son is shot and paralyzed.
“No Other Land” is a harsh, bitter documentary that, perhaps unsurprisingly, has not yet secured a US distributor.
