Sotheby’s London to celebrate Middle Eastern culture with a month of events and exhibitions
Updated 26 June 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: This summer, Sotheby’s is taking over London’s famed Bond Street for “Hafla” (the Arabic word for celebration), a series of exhibitions and events showcasing Middle Eastern culture.
Each of Sotheby’s London galleries will host an aspect of Middle East culture in an almost month-long round of exhibitions, accompanied by a series of public events.
Pochette Zaboon. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Among the highlights displayed are five limited-edition handbags designed by Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nourah Al-Faisal. Created in collaboration with Asprey and the princess’s brand, Nuun, the bold designs pay homage to the five major regions of the Kingdom, displaying their diversity and beauty by the use of color, motifs and embroidery techniques.
Also on display will be more than 50 artworks spanning 50 years of modern visual art in the Kingdom, comprising paintings, sculptures and installations, curated in collaboration with Qaswra Hafez, founder of Hafez Gallery in Jeddah.
Visitors will also get to see 60 exceptional jewelry creations brought together by A2Z Advisory Bahrain, which explore the inspiration of the Eastern world on jewelry design.
A calligraphic scroll section, Turkey or Persia, Ottoman or Timurid, mid-15th century. (Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Finally, the exhibitions will present the rich calligraphic traditions from across the Islamic world. From the earliest Qur’anic manuscripts in Kufic script to the lavish illumination of the Qajars, a selection of important leaves from religious and secular manuscripts will show the evolution and breadth of the calligraphic arts from the eighth to the 21st century.
Accompanying the art and objects displayed will be a series of events aimed at immersing visitors in the rich history of the Middle East, including panel discussions and gallery tours.
Sotheby’s Restaurant will also get a makeover, in homage to the region’s cafe culture.
Review: ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ — the sequel nobody needed
Glossy update to beloved Eddie Murphy franchise falls flat
Updated 19 min 38 sec ago
Matt Ross
LONDON: There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about the opening minutes of “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” as Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley drives through his beloved Detroit on his way to a Red Wings game. Only, of course, Foley isn’t there to watch hockey — he’s actually there to catch a group of bad guys in his inimitable, maverick-cop fashion, racking up a huge property damage bill and getting chewed out by his beleaguered captain in the process. All the elements that made 1984’s “Beverly Hills Cop” such a hit are here: Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On,” the familiar strains of “Axel F” by Harold Faltermeyer, Murphy’s improv-ish bluster, and some carefully choreographed set pieces. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
It's advice that Australian director Mark Molloy (making his feature debut here) takes to heart. This fourth installment in the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise leans heavily on its past — returning alongside Murphy are Judge Reinhold (as Billy), John Ashton (Taggart), Paul Reiser (Jeffrey) and Bronson Pinchot (Serge). And yes, it’s a blast seeing all these guys back together. Joining the cast are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as by-the-book cop Bobby Abbot, Kevin Bacon as Beverly Hills captain Cade Grant, and Taylour Paige as Jane, Foley’s estranged daughter, who finds herself targeted by a group of corrupt cops (the reason for Foley’s return to Los Angeles early in the movie).
Molloy does at least throw in some more up-to-date, high-octane action scenes (unfortunately complete with some shonky CGI), and hits Foley with a flurry of more-modern California stereotypes to poke fun at. Even Abbot makes fun of Foley’s outdated alpha-male approach to solving crimes, throwing in a joke about 1994’s poorly received “Beverly Hills Cop III” not being his finest hour. It’s standard, fish-out-of-water fare, brought up to date with a 2024 budget and a script that’s not afraid to make fun of itself.
Sadly, as 2021’s “Coming 2 America” proved, simply refreshing a tried-and-tested Eddie Murphy comedy staple doesn’t automatically make it good — or even particularly funny. So, while it’s entertaining to see familiar characters riff on each other’s grey hairs and failing bodies, there’s little of the zing and zip that made the original “Beverly Hills Cop” so captivating. Instead, it makes for a glossy, unnecessary, retread. Maybe, if it ain’t broke, leave it alone entirely.
MDLBEAST provides soundtrack to Esports World Cup 2024 in Riyadh
Rappers Wiz Khalifa, Gunna, G-Eazy, Don Toliver, Jack Harlow among artists performing this month
Updated 4 sec ago
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi music entertainment company MDLBEAST is staging a series of performances by international artists to coincide with the Esports World Cup 2024.
AFT_r music shows will take place weekly over seven weeks until Aug. 15 at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The opening event featured performers such as Aly Fathallah, singer and producer Ckay, DJ Nooriyah, and rapper ElGrandeToto.
American rappers Wiz Khalifa, Gunna, G-Eazy, Don Toliver, and Jack Harlow will be among artists performing in coming weeks.
The lineup also features international DJs such as DJ Snake, R3HAB, and Sebastian Ingrosso.
“The launch of AFT_r shows with the supporting events of EWC, the largest event of its kind in the world, provides local audiences and visitors with an outstanding musical entertainment experience during this global event, strengthening the Kingdom’s regional and global position in esports, and music entertainment,” MDLBEAST CEO Ramadan Alharatani said.
The EWC tournament features a cross-game structure that pits the world’s top esports teams and athletes against one another for the competition’s largest-ever prize pool.
QUETTA: Come summer season, Hajji Baz Khan is a busy man. Eager to beat the heat and satiate their parched throats, hundreds of customers throng his shop daily for a tall glass of sugarcane juice. Khan repeatedly directs the servers at his shop to take customers’ orders, as the sound of a machine crushing the sugarcane for juice fills the air.
This is usually the scene at “Quetta Juice” shop on Jinnah Road, a busy place during summers in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta. Pakistan has been in the grip of severe heat since May, with temperatures in the southern parts of the country soaring as high as 52 degrees Celsius. In Quetta, the temperature frequently crossed 40 degrees Celsius over the past few weeks.
And as the temperature rises, so does the number of customers at Quetta Juice to quench their thirst.
“Sometimes we face a shortage of glasses due to the large number of customers in the summer peak days,” Khan, 58, told Arab News. “Because people consider sugarcane juice as the source to beat the [high] temperature.”
Customers take sip of fresh juices at a local shop in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
Sugarcane juice is a popular drink in Pakistan during the summer season. The juice is extracted on the spot by feeding sugarcane stalks into a machine, which is freshly squeezed out and served with ice cubes.
Pakistan’s macroeconomic crisis and double-digit inflation have made life for businesses difficult. Khan, who has been running the famous sugarcane juice shop since 1985, said he has to buy 40kg of sugarcane for Rs2500 ($9). And to make matters worse, the government has approved a surge in power tariffs.
“But yet my business is doing well, we are selling a single glass of sugarcane juice for 90 rupees ($0.32),” Khan said. “During the summer season, we use more than 100kg of sugar cane regularly for the traditional drink.”
Iftikhar Parvez, who traveled from Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad to meet relatives in Quetta, couldn’t help but stop for sugarcane juice after visiting the nearby bazaar.
“In the summer season, the throat remains dry hence people prefer to drink sugarcane juice,” he said.
Wakeel Ahmed, a 44-year-old resident of Balochistan’s Sibi city who was visiting Quetta, said he had stopped for a sugarcane juice drink as he was suffering from low blood sugar.
The drink, he said, refreshed his mind and soul.
“Medically, sugarcane juice is very healthy for the human body and doctors always suggest it for hepatitis B and C patients,” Ahmed said. ‘KUSHTA’
While yogurt-based lassi, lemon sodas, milkshakes and fresh juices are popular in summer, another drink “kushta,” prepared with dried apricots and a mixture of salt and sugar, is also a much-relished beverage in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Ikram Ullah, 21, has been selling the drink for the last five years every summer.
“The residents love to drink apricot juice which gives me an earning of Rs3000 ($10.80) a single day,” he told Arab News.
An Apricot juice seller, Ikram Ullah, mixes his poplar juice in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
“When there is any public activity in the city, I sell two 35-liter jars of apricot juice. But normally, I sell one.”
Taj Muhammad, a resident of the city’s Sariab Road, said he was roaming through the bazaar when he came across a pushcart selling kushta. That was enough of a temptation for him to stop and drink a glass of fresh apricot juice.
“There are dozens of pushcarts in Quetta from the main city center to the end of Sariab Road selling this traditional drink because the demand for this beverage increases in the summer season.”
A vendor fills glasses with traditional sugar cane juice in Quetta on July 6, 2024. (AN Photo)
Rihanna flaunts jewelry by Qatari label in new Fenty Beauty campaign
Updated 07 July 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: Fenty Beauty founder Rihanna unveiled the cosmetics brand’s latest campaign this week — and several of the snaps see the Barbadian superstar sporting rings by Qatari label Noudar Jewels.
Rihanna promoted the release of several new lip products in a sultry new campaign in which she sports a faux fur headpiece in a fiery shade of red. The pop superstar also shows off Noudar Jewels’ Henna Rings in the images.
Founded by Noor Ali Hussain Alfardan, the label seeks to “combine influences from the timeless treasures of Arabian civilization with a modernist take on luxury jewelery,” according to the brand’s website.
Noudar Jewels is known for its incorporation of Omani patterns reminiscent of mosaic work and henna-style designs. The label has been flaunted by the likes of Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Kendall Jenner and more.
In June, Rihanna turned to the Asian subcontinent for her jewelry look as she showed off pieces by two celebrity-loved Indian fashion designers to launch her Fenty Hair line. The beauty mogul combined jewellery by Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi Mukherjee in one look, which she showcased on the red carpet in Los Angeles.
She wore a large choker with custom-cut rubies from Malhotra's High Jewellery collection and a three-stone pendant featuring rubellite stones from Sabyasachi's line.
The singer is known for sporting international designers and is a particular fan of one part-Arab footwear maven.
In January, Rihanna attended Dior’s couture show at Paris’s Musee Rodin while wearing shoes by her favored footwear designer, Romanian Jordanian Amina Muaddi. Rihanna showed off the Kim pumps from Muaddi’s eponymous brand. They are crafted in Italy from white patent-leather and have slim ankle straps punctuated with silver-tone buckles.
Barbados-born Rihanna is one of Muaddi’s most loyal fans.
She has championed her creations to lavish red-carpet events, fundraising galas, taking an off-duty stroll or stepping out to dinner.
In 2020, Muaddi helped design the shoes for Rihanna’s Fenty collection. The collaboration was so successful that it received the Collaborator of the Year award at the 34th edition of the FN Achievement Awards.
How a Saudi couple’s passion for F1 made for a ‘spectacular’ wedding entrance
Khashogji told Arab News that the decision to hold the wedding reception at the Jeddah F1 circuit “was a mutual decision” driven by the couple’s “love for unique experiences and cars in general”
Updated 06 July 2024
Lama Alhamawi
RIYADH: Saudi newlyweds Abdulaziz Khashogji and Amirah Al-Bassam tied the knot in style as the first-ever couple to have their “zaffa,” or wedding entrance, on Jeddah’s F1 circuit.
“Both of us have unconventional ideas when it comes to our lifestyles,” the 32-year-old groom told Arab News.
“The shoot and the location were both iconic and really special; we’re both so grateful we made our night as special as our relationship,” 26-year-old bride added.
The Saudi newlyweds recently made their first entrance as husband and wife on a red 2024 Ferrari Roma Spider waving to their guests and driving across the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. (Supplied)
Last week, the newlyweds made their first entrance as husband and wife on a red 2024 Ferrari Roma Spider waving to their guests and driving across the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, famed as the fastest and longest street circuit in F1 at 6.175 km.
When approaching the planning of their reception and entrance, the couple’s vision was simple, with a slogan of “less is more.”
“I proposed the venue and Amirah thought it would be cool to just have a simple wedding dinner that was iconic. Adding the Ferrari for our entrance was the touch that made it extra special,” Khashogji said.
HIGHLIGHT
Photos and videos of the unique wedding reception has been circulating on social media, with many commenters showing interest and excitement over the extraordinary Saudi wedding entrance.
Photos and videos of the unique wedding reception circulated on social media over the weekend, with many commenters showing interest and excitement over the extraordinary Saudi wedding entrance.
When asked how the idea of the F1 wedding photo shoot came about, Al-Bassam said: “Given that the wedding reception was at the circuit, and my husband is a car and motorsport fanatic, it would have been rude not to,” she said.
“His lifelong passion is Formula 1 and his favorite manufacturer is Ferrari, so we had to do the shoot in a Ferrari at the F1 track,” she added.
A new benchmark for wedding venues has been set, and it’ll be a tough one to follow.
Zaid Khashogji, Relative
Khashogji told Arab News that the decision to hold the wedding reception at the Jeddah F1 circuit “was a mutual decision” driven by the couple’s “love for unique experiences and cars in general.”
The groom works in Saudi Motorsport and manages the circuit, hosting the F1 race along with the other events that take place at the track all year round.
“I’ve been with Saudi Motorsport since the first F1 race in 2021 as part of the hospitality team running premium hospitality. Since that day I knew I wanted to have my wedding in this venue, and when I met Amirah and fell in love with her, we both knew that it would be the perfect place for both of us,” he said.
There was some initial skepticism when the couple first told family and guests about the location they had in mind, Al-Bassam said.
“But everyone was blown away as soon as they showed up. The guests loved the venue, the idea, and everyone had an amazing time, which felt very rewarding to share our joy with everyone,” she added.
Rema Al-Yahya, a close friend of the bride, shared her experience of the unique ceremony. “I’ve never seen a wedding entrance like this before. It was really unexpected and everyone loved it. It was a truly memorable experience that perfectly captured the couple’s personality,” she said.
The groom’s brother, Zaid Khashogji said that the entrance was a “spectacle.”
He added: “For my brother it was a dream come true. Growing up, Aziz used to always say ‘Hawaii? Como? When I get married, it’ll be on an F1 track!
“Subhan Allah, he manifested it from a young age … back when the idea of having a Formula 1 track in Saudi Arabia was nothing more than wishful thinking! And it was amazing to see it happen in our hometown, no less.
“A new benchmark for wedding venues has been set, and it’ll be a tough one to follow!”
