Saudi Arabia’s Al-Majaridah Winter Festival draws 30,000 visitors
Festival’s recreational activities include theatrical shows and competitions for children, with folk groups presenting popular shows, such as the Ardah dance
A honey festival was held in the exhibition hall on Art Street, in which 41 exhibitors, including beekeepers and honey producers, took part
Updated 12 December 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Al-Majaridah Winter tourism festival has attracted more than 30,000 people since launching two weeks ago.
The organizers said diverse activities are being held near Art Street in the center of the Al-Majaridah Governorate in the Asir region, such as shopping and entertainment, providing dozens of seasonal jobs for young men and women.
Citizens and visitors are visiting the festival’s shopping hall where household items, clothes, perfumes, sweets and other products are displayed.
The festival’s recreational activities include theatrical shows and competitions for children, with folk groups presenting popular shows, such as the Ardah dance. The festival also incorporates an amusement city with a range of games.
A honey festival was held in the exhibition hall on Art Street, in which 41 exhibitors, including beekeepers and honey producers, took part.
Several government authorities also took part in the event, in addition to farmers and producing families.
The festival showcased some of the most popular types of honey, such as sidr, sumra, shouka, Al-Majarah and Al-Dhahyan, as well as honey products, and beekeeping tools and wax.
The Al-Majaridah Governorate is a prominent winter tourist destination, attracting people seeking a warm climate and breathtaking nature.
AlUla showcases artistic vision in Paris with ‘Orbis Tertius’
Exhibition of work from the AlUla Artist Residency Program was part of this year’s Art Basel
Updated 24 October 2024
Jean Grogan
PARIS: The AlUla Artist Residency Program made its debut in France during Art Basel Paris this month with “Orbis Tertius,” an exhibition showcasing the work of 20 international artists. The program was launched in 2021 by the Royal Commission for AlUla in collaboration with the French Agency for AlUla Development.
The exhibition is part of Arts AlUla’s global program to promote the ancient oasis city as an emerging hub for art and creativity. For millennia, AlUla was a key location for trade and culture — it is home to Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, and was a stop on the Incense Road. AlUla’s pre-Islamic heritage and breathtaking landscape continue to inspire groundbreaking artistic expressions, as shown in “Orbis Tertius.”
Arnaud Morand, AFALULA, Curator, Orbis Tertius (2024). (Supplied)
Artist and photographer Louis-Cyprien Rials told Arab News that at the heart of his residency was “the almost-uncomfortable idea of being nothing in a place that seems eternal and easily reminds us of our insignificance.”
Located in the palm grove of Mabiti AlUla, and with a newly-opened artists’ residence in AlJadidadh, the program offers an ideal setting for artists to reflect on the role and methods of creative practice in the contemporary world. It encourages a dynamic dialogue between the artists, as well as with the local community in AlUla.
This residency program, according to curator Arnaud Morand, head of art and creative industries at AFALULA, is “unique.” The artists are enrolled by invitation only after submission of a portfolio and a letter of intent. The breakdown of nationalities is roughly half Arab, half international.
“The artists had to have an established practice of interest and relevant to us, working between past and future heritage,” Morand explained. “In the unconventional and intense context of this desert oasis, they were working closely with the local communities. Many had previous experience in collaborating with scientists and experts. Spending a minimum of 10 weeks on the ground was mandatory. The artists met and interacted with AlUla’s field specialists; archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists, agronomists, botanists, heritage conservatists and environmental workers. If this time commitment was not possible for them, their candidature could not be considered.”
It was Morand who chose the theme “Orbis Tertius, A Journey Between Fictions and Myths” for the show, inspired by the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, whose “Fictions” explores how our world can be better understood through a blend of ancient myths and legends and observed reality.
“AlUla reinvents itself every day as a fundamental utopia of the 21st century,” Morand said. “The residency program offers a framework for creatives to integrate and meaningfully engage with the bigger project. It also provides an insight into how the community processes change. Ultimately, it steers us in the right direction, drawing on the artists’ perceptions and questions while offering time and an unparalleled context to develop their practice.”
At Art Basel, “Orbis Tertius” was displayed over four floors of the gallery at 5 rue Saint-Merri, a stone’s throw away from the Pompidou Center. The works were not confined to a single medium. The 20 contemporary artists presented 43 works that included paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs, poetry, calligraphy, brickmaking, installations and live performances.
In pride of place on the ground floor stood the 4.5 meter “The Guardian,” an aluminum sculpture by Kuwaiti artist Monira Al-Qadiri, whose work examines nature’s hostile retaliation to human presence in the environment. Her totemic sculpture is based on the Calotropis Procera, a plant native to the region, which grows on arid soil, and can survive for up to three years without a single drop of water. The Calotropis Procera secretes a milky substance that Bedouin lore has it can cause blindness.
The Jeddah-born multidisciplinary artist Anhar Salem works primarily in film. Her “A Day in AlUla” is a series of eight subtly beautiful social portrait vlogs documenting a day in the life of local and foreign AlUla residents.
.A still from Anhar Salem's 'A Day in AlUla.'(Supplied)
“I had to choose between approaching AlUla through its landscape and history or through its social and public aspects,” Salem said. “I ultimately chose the latter by simply talking to everyone I met from AlUla.”
Brothers Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz live and work in Jeddah, where they founded the architecture, design and experimental research studio Bricklab in 2015. During their residency, the brothers used rammed-earth techniques to develop a resilient material for construction unique to the region. Combining sand collected from different parts of AlUla with concrete, epoxy and other artificial additives, the bricks condense the storied narratives that make up AlUla today.
Jizan-based Reem Al-Nasser bases her work on anthropological study and concepts such as time, space and astrology. During her residency, she created “Alma of the North,” a structure of brilliant steel gates ornamented with archaeological and astronomical symbols found in AlUla’s history.
Riyadh-based Ayman Zedani’s immersive video installation “The Desert Keeper” was a result of research he had conducted on a parasitic plant from the Arabian desert over the past few years. It can acquire genes from its host plant, thus assuring the survival of its offspring. His work combined footage of the plants with a computer-generated journey through the cosmos and a voiceover by the writer and poet Wided Rihana Khdraoul.
Ayman Zedani's 'The Desert Keepers.' (Supplied)
“AlUla has long been a crossroads of cultures and a wellspring of creativity,” Nora Aldabal, executive director of arts and creative industries at the RCU, said in a press release. “With the AlUla Artist Residency Program, we are showcasing the extraordinary artistic vision flourishing in AlUla and demonstrating its power to bridge cultures and inspire dialogue.”
“Orbis Tertius,” she continued, was “a testament to incredible inspiration that artists and creatives discover in AlUla — a place where the world can connect with ancient history and experience contemporary artistic expressions. AlUla’s ambition for art, design and culture is to create a better future for the region, generating jobs and opportunities for cultural enrichment for those who live, work and visit there.”
Arab Week at UNESCO to showcase rich culture, heritage
Event will showcase the diversity of Arab cultural heritage and civilization while promoting intercultural dialogue and cultural development goals
Initiative reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to global engagement and received unanimous backing from Arab culture ministers at the ALECSO General Conference in May
Updated 23 October 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is organizing the inaugural Arab Week at UNESCO, set for Nov. 4-5 at its Paris headquarters.
This marks the first such event in more than 50 years of Arab-UNESCO relations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
Supported by all Arab nations, the event will showcase the diversity of Arab cultural heritage and civilization while promoting intercultural dialogue and cultural development goals.
Organizing by Saudi Arabia’s National Commission for Education, Culture and Sciences, the event will highlight the Arab world’s artistic and literary traditions, creating a broad platform for cultural exchange.
The initiative reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to global engagement and received unanimous backing from Arab culture ministers at the ALECSO General Conference in May.
Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, minister of culture and chairman of the commission, has led the initiative, positioning Saudi Arabia as a key player in promoting regional and international cultural collaboration.
The program includes a marketplace for Arab cultural products, Arabic calligraphy exhibitions, UNESCO-listed heritage site displays, music, food demonstrations, traditional crafts, and fashion showcases.
Academic activities feature symposiums on novel writing, artificial intelligence, calligraphy, children’s literature, and poetry, alongside competitions and artist displays.
This event enhances Arab culture’s global standing, providing a platform to share its rich heritage and ideas while uniting Arab nations through shared values and contributing to global development.
Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj discusses the ‘poet of visuals’
The Saudi artist discusses his work that is currently on display at Art Basel Paris
Updated 18 October 2024
Jean Grogan
PARIS: Mohammad Alfaraj was born in the world’s largest desert oasis — Al-Ahsa — in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. He is the son and grandson of date farmers.
The 31-year-old artist was one of the participating artists in the AlUla Artist Residency in 2021, and is now showing the results of that residency for the first time as part of the “Orbis Tertius” exhibition at the Art Basel Paris international art fair, which opened Oct. 18 in Paris’ newly restored Grand Palais.
He describes himself as “an artist and a poet — a poet of visuals.”
“I was talking with one of the other AlUla Residency artists about this, and we agreed that both of us try to encapsulate poems and poetry into objects, poems that you can hold, and touch and feel, and smell,” Alfaraj tells Arab News.
A still from Alfaraj's 'The Date Fruit of Knowledge.' (Supplied)
His route to becoming an artist wasn’t a straightforward one. He studied Applied Mechanical Engineering at King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran. “When I began my studies in 2011, there wasn’t much focus on filmmaking or photography in Saudi, and they were what interested me. But it was beautiful, because understanding how things work and how to build them is a relevant subject for a curious mind. One of my favorite courses was Mechanics of Materials. I learned that everything is alive, even inanimate objects emit a vibration, an energy. I wanted to complete my degree, but also to pursue my career as an artist,” he explains.
His agricultural background has also inspired his work.
“Growing up on a farm, it’s deeply ingrained to reuse everything we find around us,” he says. “We don’t call it ecology, we call it resources; there is no waste, no excess, nothing gets thrown away. A bird builds its nest from the things it finds lying around, bits of straw, bits of plastic. I call that ‘honestly built.’”
'The Last Words of a Tree 2,' currently on show at Art Basel Paris. (Supplied)
A bird is the central focus of one of Alfaraj’s Art Basel installations, “The Date Fruit of Knowledge.” The stop-motion film, with narration over the top, was drawn in the sand of the palm groves of AlUla.
“It’s the story of a little nightingale who’s trying to get all the knowledge of the world. He’s impatient; he wants everything immediately. Someone tells him the legend, ‘Each palm tree produces one date that holds all the knowledge of the world.’ So he finds a palm tree and eats every single date that it produces to hit that one date. He becomes obsessed, he wants to stop, but he cannot, he’s driven by that greed for knowledge,” Alfaraj says.
“Finally — finally — he finds the date! And he knows everything, what is, what was, what will be. The problem is, when he knows everything, he knows everything — the good things he cannot enjoy, and the horrific things he cannot change — so this blessing becomes a curse. So the film is about this idea of getting things slowly, with time, and really experiencing the journey of life rather than instantly reaching your destination. Of course, it’s inspired by stories from the Qur’an, religious parables, folklore and mythologies around the world, so everybody can connect with it in some way,” he adds. “The ‘nightingale’ in the film is made out of dates, and he eats so many dates he almost dies. What I want to say by this is that our destruction could be by our own hands, but our salvation could be by our own hands too.”
Untitled 4, Mohammed Alfaraj, 2023. (Supplied)
The film is presented at Art Basel against a backdrop of Alfaraj’s illustrations, and palm fronds are placed in front of the screen in the shape of a bird’s wings.
“The paper (for the illustrations) is made from waste palm, the ink is also made from palm leaves, so the whole work is made from things that are normally discarded,” Alfaraj explains. “I like finding objects, collecting them and turning them into sculpture, or finding photographs and landscapes of places I visit and making them into something new. I think that’s awesome — finding, finding and then transforming.”
Alfaraj still lives in the place he was born, which remains a constant source of inspiration. Last year, he built himself a home on a farm there.
An installation shot of 'Hand,' from the 'Fossils of Time' series, Mohammed Alfaraj. (Supplied)
“It’s just a simple rectangle with a bedroom and kitchen and a studio where I work. It has a garden with date palms, mulberry trees, fig and lemon trees. I have a couple of chickens too, now.”
When he travels abroad, he keeps his carbon footprint as low as possible, even if that means staying away from home for months at a time.
Since the beginning of this year, he has been preparing his next exhibition in Dubai in parallel to Art Basel. He says he told his curator that he wants to be known as “an anti-SS” artist.
Mohammed AlFaraj with his work 'From What Bone Will We Grow Back On the First Day of Eternity.' (Supplied)
“It’s a play on words, which I always like. It means I am anti-style and anti-scale, because style and scale do not the drive the work, they are just the façade. The driver of the work should be the heart and the soul — and modesty too, humility. If the work requires a large scale, I’m happy to do that. But there is no reason to make it an objective to itself.”
Another of his Art Basel installations — from his “Last Words of a Tree” series — is titled “From What Bone Will We Grow Back On the First Day of Eternity?”
“I’ve used a certain part of a palm tree to make a sculpture that looks like bones, or a fossil, of a creature emerging from the earth,” he says. “I try to believe that with so much sacrifice going on, something great will happen, and hopefully, human glory will emerge; the evil and prejudices eradicated. So, I hope this work serves as an acknowledgement of everything that’s happening, but also contains a certain hope.”
Recipes for Success: Chef Robert Stevens offers advice and a roasted cauliflower recipe
Updated 18 October 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: Dubai’s The Nice Guy, the first international outpost of the West Hollywood Italian restaurant known for its “no photos” policy, is a dream-come-true assignment for its head chef, Robert Stevens.
“My favorite thing about (the job) is for sure the team,” he tells Arab News. “Teamwork makes the dream work. The venue is so beautiful. I love the feeling of walking into the restaurant when the live band is playing and the restaurant is full.”
Stevens’ introduction to the restaurant industry came in his home country of Finland after he graduated with a culinary diploma from the Turku Vocational Institute.
Dubai’s The Nice Guy is the first international outpost of the West Hollywood Italian restaurant known for its “no photos” policy. (Supplied)
“My first inspiration to become a chef was foraging and fishing in Finland’s beautiful nature,” he says.
Here, Stevens talks teamwork, seasoning, and Korean cuisine.
When you started out what was the most common mistake you made?
Not properly seasoning my dishes. I often relied too heavily on the final seasoning at the end of cooking instead of adjusting flavors throughout the process. I learned the importance of layering flavors, tasting as I go, and understanding how seasoning interacts with different ingredients.
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What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
Embrace the process and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Cooking is about experimentation, so if you forget an ingredient or something doesn’t turn out as expected, view it as a learning opportunity.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
Salt. It enhances the natural flavors of ingredients, balances sweetness, and can even elevate textures.
(Supplied)
What’s the most common mistake/issue that you find in other restaurants?
A lack of balance in flavors — dishes can be either over-salted or under-seasoned. And inattentive service always detracts from the overall experience.
What’s your favorite cuisine?
Korean. I love it for its emphasis on fermentation, which not only adds depth of flavor but also leaves you feeling light and refreshed. The balance of spicy, savory, and umami flavors in dishes like kimchi jjigai and bibimbap is so satisfying.
(Supplied)
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
I don’t have a specific favorite dish — I’m inspired by the seasonal produce available. Cooking with fresh, in-season ingredients allows me to create vibrant, flavorful meals that highlight the best of what each season has to offer.
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?
Risotto is the most difficult. We have a butternut squash risotto on our new brunch menu. Achieving the perfect creamy texture while ensuring the rice is cooked just right can be challenging. It requires constant attention and a delicate balance of adding stock gradually. Despite its simplicity, timing and technique make it a dish that demands focus and precision.
(Supplied)
What are you like as a head chef? Are you a disciplinarian? Or are you more laid back?
I lean towards a more laidback style. Having worked in many high-paced kitchens, I prioritize teamwork and trust in my staff. I also emphasize support for mental health, recognizing that hospitality can be a really tough industry. It’s essential for my team to know they have support when they’re feeling down, creating an environment where everyone can thrive.
CHEF ROBERT’S ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH ALMOND AND BROWN BUTTER BURNED LEEK
(Supplied)
Ingredients per plate:
-120g roasted cauliflower
-20gr Butter
-10 gr Cauliflower shavings
-2gr Salt
-1gr Pepper
-10gr Burned leeks
-10gr Truffle oil
-1 portion Almond brown butter puree
-Mustard cress to garnish
Plating
1) Sautee the roasted cauliflower in frying pan until golden.
2) Baste cauliflower with butter and truffle oil.
3) Heat up almond brown butter puree.
4) One table spoon of puree into the plate.
5) Pile cauliflower on top.
6) Garnish with shave cauliflower, burned leeks and mustard cress.
7) Season with Maldon salt and few drops of truffle oil.
Sub recipes:
Almond and brown butter puree (2 portion)
-120gr butter
-350gr cauliflower
-150 gr peeled almonds (soaked)
-60 gr shallots
-6gr garlic
-salt to taste
-100gr vegetable stock
Method:
1) Soak almonds overnight in water.
2) Cook butter until brown and skim off milk.
3) Cook cauliflower in salted boiling water until soft.
4) Sweat shallots and garlic in the brown butter until soft.
5) Blend all ingredients until very smooth. Use pacojet if available.
6) Season with salt and pepper.
Burned leeks
1) Cut the white part of the leeks into 10cm-long pieces and slice into half.
2) Cook in oven at 250 C until completely burned.
Roasted cauliflower
1) Cut cauliflower into half.
2) Seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil and thyme . Add 50 ml vegetable stock into container.
3) Cook in the oven at 180 C covered with aluminum foil for 25 min.
4) Uncover cauliflower and raise temperature to 220C cook for 15 min until it starts to caramelized and the cauliflower is cooked.
Best and Worst: Taleedah Tamer talks style, holidays and good and bad advice
Updated 18 October 2024
Hams Saleh
DUBAI: The Saudi-Italian model talks style, holidays and good and bad advice.
Best TV show or film you’ve ever seen?
I’m definitely a “Game of Thrones” fan. I’ve rewatched it more than five times. I love it. I also love “White Lotus.” I think that is a great show. I would say my favorite movie is “City of God.”
Worst TV show/film you’ve ever seen?
That’s a tough one. I would say “The Idol.” It’s not a good show, but it is, like, so bad that you want to watch more of it.
(Supplied)
Best personal style moment so far?
I’m the kind of person that dresses for comfort. That’s my number one priority. So whenever I dress up, for, like, a wedding or for an event, it feels special. I think those are my best outfit moments. I wore a really beautiful, blue gown to my uncle’s wedding, and I felt very myself, you know? Very fairy. I really loved it.
Worst personal style moment?
I was a very nerdy looking kid. I used to wear massive pink aviator velvet glasses. Even though I respect my younger self for going for it, that wasn’t a cute look.
Best accessory for a little black dress?
It depends on what you’re going for. But, I think, even if I am going for something a bit more casual, a little black bag would be perfect.
(Supplied)
Worst accessory for a little black dress?
The opposite: A big bag. I don’t see that working for me. But, again, it just depends on what you’re going for.
Best fashion trend of 2024?
I love how we’ve started to normalize mixing different wears together. Like, mixing elegant with casual. Some people like to mix formal wear with street style; I think that’s one of my favorite things I’ve seen. I really enjoy it. It gives people liberty to express themselves.
Worst fashion trend of 2024?
I do not enjoy chunky shoes. I might have enjoyed them when it first started, but they’re just not very wearable at the end of the day. That’s one trend that I don’t enjoy anymore.
Best advice you’ve ever been given?
Treat others the way you want to be treated. That’s stayed with me my whole life. And, recently, something that I really appreciated that I heard in a movie was: “It’s better to regret doing something than to regret doing nothing.” I think that’s really true!
Worst advice you’ve ever been given?
That you’re better off doing something yourself, by yourself. I feel like learning or asking for help is a really important skill to have. Like, you don’t have to do anything on your own. It’s a sign of courage to ask for help as well, and it shows that you want to learn.
(Supplied)
Best book you’ve ever read?
“The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran. The second I read it, I knew it would not be the last time I read it. The book is so beautiful in the original language. It was written in Arabic, and it has been translated. The translation is also really good. I love that book. I think there’s so much to be learned from it. I didn’t want it to end. It was the type of book that puts you in a good mental state and I just wanted to be in that mental state for as long as possible.
Worst book you’ve ever read?
I remember as a kid reading really bad horror books. I would, like, cringe while reading. So yeah, I would say really cheesy horror books.
Best thing to do when you’re feeling low?
Well, you have things that help you in the moment and things that will help you in the long term. When I’m feeling down, I’ve realized that meditating and reflecting is the thing that will help me get out of that state. But in the moment, to distract myself, just blasting music would help me to block things out.
Taking things for granted and not being grateful for being in that place and trying to maintain that state of mind. It’s like your health; when you’re sick, you cannot wait to feel better, and when you do, you don’t appreciate your health.
Best holiday destination?
If I want to relax, then anywhere by the sea. I also love Japan. And I thought Mauritius was a beautiful place because they have a lot of cultures there. Generally, though, it has to be somewhere really sunny, because I cannot stand the cold.
Worst holiday destination?
Anywhere that’s polluted. It’s just not enjoyable.
Best subject at school?
Languages. I was really good at my English classes and my Arabic classes. I also really loved — and I really excelled in — psychology.
To be honest, I enjoyed studying a lot; it was something that my parents instilled in me from when I was really young. So I didn’t really have a very bad subject, but my weakest would probably be math.
Best thing to do to ensure you have a productive day?
Plan ahead the night before. Have some idea of what you want to get doneAnd also, start your day right. Meditating or working out just starts off your day on a high note. I’ve realized that even if the other half of my day is not as good as the start, it still feels like a productive day.
Worst thing to do when you’re trying to have a productive day?
Doom scrolling is the worst. That’s a killer of productivity.
