Bonjour Saudi presents fresh travel and culture experiences for tourists
Updated 11 July 2024
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: In the heart of Diriyah’s Samhan district is an old Najdi-style house that’s been given a new lease of life as Bonjour Saudi — a ‘travel and experience design house’ and a local offshoot of UAE-based Bonjour Middle East.
“At Bonjour Saudi we focus on being a bridge between foreigners, expats, tourists and Saudi culture by creating experiences that showcase different parts of that culture — like cuisine, art, and tradition,” French co-founder Cecilia Pueyo told Arab News. “It’s very important for me to work routinely with Saudis to make this happen.
Whether guests are signing up for a multi-day journey around historical sites or for a two-hour cooking or art workshop, though, the aim is the same: to leave them with a better understanding of Saudi culture and history. (AN Photo/ Abdulrhman Bin Shalhuob)
Pueyo is a crafting enthusiast herself, and noticed a gap in the market when she visited the Kingdom and found it hard to access workshops on traditional Saudi crafts such as Sadu weaving, palm weaving, or Kabsa cooking. So, she wanted to create a space for such workshops. It also includes House of Artisans — a store showcasing local handicrafts like candles, abayas, handbags, jewelry, and more, giving guests an opportunity to take a piece of Saudi home with them.
And Bonjour Saudi also provides guided tours across the country to popular spots including Jeddah, Abha, and AlUla.
Whether guests are signing up for a multi-day journey around historical sites or for a two-hour cooking or art workshop, though, the aim is the same: to leave them with a better understanding of Saudi culture and history.
In the heart of Diriyah’s Samhan district is an old Najdi-style house that’s been given a new lease of life as Bonjour Saudi. (AN Photo/ Abdulrhman Bin Shalhuob)
“Even though it’s relatively new for the Kingdom to welcome foreigners and expats, (it’s clear that) people want to showcase their culture and share it with you, as well as their hospitality and generosity,” Pueyo said.
“Now, we are in a very important moment and shift in Saudi,” she continued. “This is what I think Bonjour Saudi is about; how we want to make an impact on people. Even if they only have one hour, we can connect them with the right person to deliver a message about the country, about the culture — about their passion — and I hope the guests will understand his or her vision of the Kingdom.”
Art Dubai to return for 18th edition with international lineup
Updated 14 April 2025
Rebecca Anne Proctor
DUBAI: Art Dubai — which is marking its 18th edition this year — is returning and brings together 120 galleries from across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas in what is expected to be one of the event’s most multicultural programs yet. Taking place from April 18-20, the event will host a calendar of daily talks, book launches, tours and other attractions.
Its diverse program includes Art Dubai Modern, curated this year by Magali Arriola and Nada Shabout, and Art Dubai Digital by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado and Bawwaba — which means “Gateway” — presenting 10 solo presentations by artists from various countries curated by Mirjam Varadinis and focusing on themes of migration, identity and displacement.
The event’s digital section, the first of its kind in an art fair, organized in partnership with Dubai Culture, highlights the rising influence of artificial intelligence and immersive technology in artistic creation. Installations by Hybrid Xperience, Breakfast, and Ouchhh Studio are featured, as well as 22 digital platforms from Dubai and internationally.
Entitled “After the Technological Sublime,” Delicado told Arab News that the theme aimed to provide “an opportunity to rethink what sublime is today: the concept that we have inherited since the 17th century when explorers were going out to explore the world. Now we can contrast that moment with what we are living today in the age of information and social media.”
In light of 30 new participating galleries from around the world, Pablo del Val, the event’s artistic director, said: “The really exciting aspect of this fair is the quality of the artworks.
“I think that this year you can see the maturity of the participants and really understand the vocabularies and the formats and the media that sell well in the city.
“There’s also a lot of color. The works we are showing this year show the state of the world we are living in, from technological change to a desire for escapism.”
Jordan’s Princess Iman joins parents on visit to Bahrain
Updated 14 April 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: In a significant milestone for the Jordanian royal family, Princess Iman bint Al-Hussein, the eight-month-old daughter of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein, embarked on her first official overseas visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Accompanied by her parents, the young princess was received by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa at Al-Sakhir Palace.
For the occasion, Saudi-born Princess Rajwa – known for her elegant fashion choices – opted for a white-and-blue ensemble from London-based fashion label Erdem, including a floral midi pencil skirt and a draped short sleeved top. She completed the look with white lace slingback pumps from Manolo Blahnik and a Jacquemus shoulder bag.
Meanwhile, last month, Crown Prince Hussein took to Instagram to mark Mother’s Day with a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Queen Rania, and Princess Rajwa.
In the first of two images, Queen Rania is holding her granddaughter, Princess Iman, as the crown prince watches on.
In the second image, Princess Rajwa, dressed in a plain white t-shirt, is seen holding her daughter.
“To my beloved mother and my loving wife, your presence fills our lives with joy, and your love is the true meaning of giving. Happy Mother’s Day,” he captioned the post.
The royal couple welcomed their first child on Aug. 3, 2024.
Sir Brian Clarke’s artwork in Bahrain depicts vision of harmony
Updated 14 April 2025
Rawaa Talass
MANAMA: Symbolizing hope and beauty, an impressive stained-glass artwork by veteran British artist Sir Brian Clarke has been unveiled at Bahrain International Airport. Brimming with vibrant hues, brought alive by natural light shining through the glass, it is a visual symphony of geometrical details and natural elements, such as jasmine flowers, birds, and dragonflies. The work is called "Concordia" – the notion of living together in peace and harmony.
The work references Islamic geometry, and also features elements of medieval European tapestries and illuminated Christian manuscripts. (Supplied)
"What art does best is it transcends borders, speaks to everyone, brings us all closer together," Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's minister of finance, said in the opening remarks at the April 10 unveiling event, attended by dignitaries including Bahrain's prime minister, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. "This visionary masterpiece by Sir Brian Clarke shines a light on the Kingdom of Bahrain's longstanding commitment to integrating our culture and heritage into national projects. But 'Concordia' is more than just a work of art. It is a symbol of Bahrain's openness, hospitality and ambition."
The work references Islamic geometry, and also features elements of medieval European tapestries and illuminated Christian manuscripts from the Books of Hours, prayer books from the Middle Ages. The work itself, standing tall at 34 meters in width and 17 meters in height, was an intensive labor of love that took more than two years to design, produce and install.
The colorful glass of “Concordia” was crafted by a team of artisans in Germany over a period of 40 days. It took 43 days to install the 127 individual panel work at the airport. For Clarke — whose stained-glass pieces can be found in the UK, Spain and Japan, among other places — “Concordia” has a special place in his practice.
It took 43 days to install the 127 individual panel work at the airport. (Supplied)
“I have always had a dream of making a composition in a building on a great rectangular scale that is like a view through to another world,” he said in a written statement shared after Arab News attended the unveiling event. "It’s something that in some ways unites the two parts of the world, the one that I come from and this region. Everything I have ever learned about stained glass is in some ways expressed in this window. I am very grateful that I am able to share my enthusiasms about paradise with anyone who sees this window.”
Gaza finds mention at politically charged Coachella’s first Saturday
Updated 13 April 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: US politician Bernie Sanders found a moment to mention Gaza as he took to the stage at Coachella music festival on Saturday night in California to introduce US singer-songwriter Clairo.
“Now I’m here to introduce Clairo, not just because they are a great band, not just because Clairo at the age of 13 posted videos on the internet as a singer-songwriter,” said Sanders. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible brutal war in Gaza where thousands of women and children are being killed. So, I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band, but for the great work she’s doing.”
Another political moment arrived on Saturday night, when US rock band Green Day tweaked the lyrics of their track “Jesus of Suburbia” to reflect the ongoing Israeli attacks against Gaza.
While performing the song, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong sang, “Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine / Tales from another broken home.”
The original song lyrics from 2004’s “American Idiot” were, “Runnin’ away from pain when you’ve been victimized.”
Several designers and firms from the Middle East presented creations with features highlighting Arab culture and heritage
Updated 14 April 2025
Rebecca Anne Proctor
DUBAI: Arguably the largest annual global gathering for interior and furniture designers, Milan Design Week, staged this year from April 7-13, saw several designers and firms from the Arab world present at the prestigious event.
One exhibition there, Gucci’s “Bamboo Encounters,” curated and designed by 2050+ and its founder Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, explores the role of bamboo in the brand’s history, featuring specially commissioned pieces by contemporary designers from around the world.
In post-World War II Italy, raw materials were difficult to source and so the fashion house’s founder Guccio Gucci opted for the lightweight and resilient bamboo as an alternative handle for bags. Florentine artisans creating Gucci bags supported a design that incorporated bamboo. The result was the iconic Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag.
Views of Dima Srouji's "Hybrid Exhalations" for Gucci's Bamboo Encounters presentation during Milan Design Week 2025. (Courtesy of Gucci)
Among the various commissioned designers in “Bamboo Encounters” is Dima Srouji, a Palestinian architect and artist. Her bamboo-style baskets, “Hybrid Exhalations,” showcase basketry traditions of the Levant, incorporating hand-foraged bamboo with delicate blown glass by the Twam family in Palestine. The pieces evoke a sense of fragile beauty and resilience.
During her three months of research, Srouji fell in love with the history of basket-making.
“I really like this idea of time passing and the amount of time that it requires to weave baskets really slowly by these anonymous artisans from all over the world,” she told Arab News.
Views of Dima Srouji's "Hybrid Exhalations" for Gucci's Bamboo Encounters presentation during Milan Design Week 2025. (Courtesy of Gucci)
“Some of these baskets were found online, like on eBay. Some of them were from different auctions, and each one is from a different country. Some are even flower baskets from Japan; fish baskets and egg baskets from Philippines, one is a World War II hat from the UK from an English gentleman that got it from Vietnam in the 1940s.”
Srouji transformed them into playful, organic forms by combining them with blown-glass pieces that she made with Palestinian glassblowers; the Twam family that she has been working with for the past 10 years. They are based in Jaba’, a historic village located northeast of Jerusalem between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
“The combination of the glass and the baskets happened in my studio where I started weaving the glass into the already woven baskets and they became their own living creatures,” Srouji said. “They’re airy, playful, and each (piece) has embedded memories in them. Each one tells a different story from a different part of the world, and it’s an important moment to think about joy and celebrate the history of Palestinian tradition, and especially during such a dark time.”
Views of Dima Srouji's "Hybrid Exhalations" for Gucci's Bamboo Encounters presentation during Milan Design Week 2025. (Courtesy of Gucci)
At Isola Design Festival by Isola Design Group, which has offices in Dubai Design District (d3), several emerging designers from the Arab world presented their work. One is Jordanian designer Victoria Dabdoub who presented her first collection, “Stone Objects: A Study of Core Solids,” made of several hand-shaped stone masses connected by a brass piece. The result is elegant and playful candle-holders that invite the user to make their own display using several pieces.
“My work looks at local practices in Jordan and Palestine and aims to work with local artisans to develop contemporary pieces,” Dabdoub said. “My first collection is a collection of stone candle-holders that I made during two workshops in Amman, one involving metalwork and the other stonework.”
Candleholders by Victoria Dabdoub presented at the Isola Design Festival in Milan. (Photography by Hussam Hasan)
She added: “I think it is important to produce high-quality products locally. The stone is limestone from the south of Jordan and the brass is sourced in the market, likely from Italy or elsewhere. Whether I am working from Jordan or Palestine, it is important to try and incorporate local practices, especially given the war taking place and the number of voices that are unheard. Trying to say something through design, crafts and material and heritage is crucial.”
Etereo, the creative studio based between Dubai and Milan, returns to Milan Design Week with an immersive exhibition at Nilufar Depot, featuring its popular “Faraglioni” and “Grottesche” collections. The alluring forms, materials and colors of these pieces celebrate the synergies between design and nature, especially those found in the Mediterranean.
The making of Victoria Dabdoub's candleholders presented at the Isola Design Festival in Milan. (Photography by Hussam Hasan)
The “Faraglioni” collection, produced exclusively for Nilufar in a limited edition, showcases the essence of the sea within interior spaces through sculptural designs — a centerpiece table, dining table, coffee table, and two consoles that pay homage to the famous Faraglioni rocks of Capri that represent timeless natural wonders and heritage.
