‘The Camel Through the Ages’ exhibition opens at Ithra 

Abdulrahman Al-Soliman's 'The Camel is not a Ship.' (Supplied)
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Updated 13 September 2024
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‘The Camel Through the Ages’ exhibition opens at Ithra 

  • New exhibition ties in with Ministry of Culture’s Year of the Camel 

DHAHRAN: The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is currently hosting “The Camel Through the Ages” exhibition at its Dhahran headquarters in collaboration with the Riyadh-based Layan Cultural Foundation. The show runs until Nov. 1 in a year designated by the Ministry of Culture as the Year of the Camel. 

“Camels have long occupied a special place in the societies of the Arabian Peninsula, including the kingdom of Saudi Arabia; they were a means of transportation across vast distances, crossing mountains, valleys, and deserts, similar to ship movements within the sea waves,” Ithra said in a statement.  

In an emotional keynote speech at the opening of the exhibition, LCF founder, Prince Faissal bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, expressed the significance of the camel to the Kingdom’s cultural heritage and as a symbol of strength and resilience. 




Prince Faissal bin Abdullah at the opening of 'The Camel Through the Ages.' (Supplied)

Ghada Al-Tobaishi, executive director of the LCF said: “We are very pleased to cooperate with Ithra (on this) exhibition. This academic and cultural project aims to enrich the knowledge of many important facts of cultural heritage of past eras.” 

Last year, the LCF published a two-volume Arabic-language book about camels, in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Public Library. That was the inspiration for the current exhibition at Ithra. Some of the works were commissioned specifically for the exhibition, while others were part of the book. The show is curated by Kumail Muhammed Almusaly with the help of Maryam Al-Dossary. 

“We, at Ithra, reached out to Layan Cultural Foundation to collaborate on an exhibit specifically for the Year of the Camel,” Almusaly told Arab News. “And it fits very well with the intent of this gallery, which focuses on the history of Saudi Arabia. 




Digital mosaics created at the Layan Cultural Foundation for 'The Camel Through the Ages.' (Supplied)

“We came up with five themes in order to create a journey in which the visitor could flow freely between the artworks — it is not a linear journey,” he added. 

The five themes are: the camel as an iconic symbol of the Arabian identity; the camel as a meditative or spiritual connection — especially through Qur’anic verses; the camel as a source of pride in camel races and as part of the family; camels as part of oral or folk history; and camels as a companion, in times of rest and travel.  

The first thing visitors see on entering the exhibition space is a collection of paintings, including a 2013 work by Saudi artist Abdulrahman Al-Soliman entitled “The Camel is not a Ship.” 




'The Camel Through the Ages,' the two-volume book that was the inspiration for the exhibition. (Supplied)

“This is a statement by a pioneering artist,” Almusaly said. “(It’s) a piece that ‘corrects’ our perception toward camels. He is using text over the painting, which states that the camel is ‘not the ship of the desert.’ He wants to convert that perception back to the reality that the camel is a creature — it is not an object.” 

This section of the exhibition also includes digital mosaics created by the LCF, alongside works from international and local artists. “There is a part where we switch to how Western artists have looked at Eastern culture — how they are examining the camel and Arabic culture from their perspective,” Almusaly explained. 

After the paintings, the show moves on to sculptures of various styles and sizes, to photographs, to old coins and a few traditional garments. Arabic calligraphy is a part of many of the pieces. 

According to Almusaly, the LCF has been instrumental in “maintaining culture, maintaining history and preserving culture through these materials,” bringing in experts to examine each object and in order to elevate our overall understanding of the camel. 

The exhibition provides an opportunity to examine the camel through the eyes of various artists, and through a visual language that is steeped in Saudi identity, highlighting the vital role the camel has played in the Kingdom’s cultural and economic progress throughout history. 


Photographs in Doha’s Tasweer photo festival explore belonging, identity and home in the Arab world

Updated 11 May 2025
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Photographs in Doha’s Tasweer photo festival explore belonging, identity and home in the Arab world

DOHA: A young Sudanese man sits in a chair dressed in an elegant off-white three-piece suit. He holds a small shotgun in one hand which he eyes solemnly while resting against the wall behind him on a crimson red tapestry is a rifle. The photograph is titled “Life Won’t Stop” and is one of several images by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama documenting his friend’s wedding in Omdurman, Sudan, a city constantly targeted by airstrikes.

The photograph is on view as part of the show “Tadween,” referring to the concept of recording of news and emotions through writing, photography, audio or video, and is one of several exhibitions in the third edition of Doha’s Tasweer Photo Festival, which runs until June 20.

“Life Won’t Stop” is one of several images by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama documenting his friend’s wedding in Omdurman, Sudan. (Supplied)

“Despite the clashes and random shelling in the city, the wedding was a simple but joyous occasion with family and friends,” wrote in the caption for the work. “The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, brought horrors and displacement, forcing me to leave my childhood home and move to another part of the city. It was a time none of us ever expected to live through. Yet, this wedding was a reminder of the joy of everyday life still possible amidst the tragedy and despair.”

Abushama’s photograph earned recognition at the 2025 World Press Photo Awards in the Singles Africa category.

Abushama’s poignant image is one of many on show this year in the Tasweer Photo Festival that prompt deep reflection and compassion.

One of the numerous exhibitions on view is “Obliteration — Surviving The Inferno: Gaza’s Battle for Existence.” The images are displayed outside in Doha’s Katara Cultural Village unfolding in five stages to capture each chapter thus far of the war on Gaza. Each image, such as Abdulrahman Zaqout’s “When Food and Water Become Weapons,” has been shot by a Gazan photographer on the ground to witness and experience the catastrophe. From children extending bowls for food to mothers comforting terrified children, each image recounts the tales of horror that continue to unfold as the war in Gaza continues.

One of the numerous exhibitions on view is “Obliteration — Surviving The Inferno: Gaza’s Battle for Existence.” (Supplied)

“As I Lay Between Two Seas,” another exhibition in the festival, is at the Doha Fire Station. Curated by Meriem Berrada, an independent curator and artistic director of the Museum of Contemporary African Art Al Maaden in Marrakech, the exhibition is a poignant and poetic display of 25 photographers from the Arab world and its diasporas grappling and coming to terms with ideas of identity, belonging and home.

“(The exhibition) approaches belonging not as a fixed state, but as a fluid, evolving condition shaped by memory, distance, rupture, and imagination,” Berrada told Arab News. “The exhibition unfolds through a non-linear narrative that invites diverse temporalities and perspectives to coexist.”

“As I Lay Between Two Seas,” another exhibition in the festival, is at the Doha Fire Station. (Supplied)

The title of the exhibition is drawn from a photographic series by Ali Al-Shehabi that conjures up a metaphor that speaks to the fluid, ever changing idea of understanding the self.

“Guided by the metaphor of the sea — shifting, unstable, and expansive — it draws inspiration from poets of the region whose writings on exile and longing offer a conceptual and emotional foundation,” Berrada said. “The selected works span a wide spectrum from documentary to conceptual and abstract practices. These works examine family and community dynamics, spiritual and philosophical relationships, and the sociopolitical structures that influence selfhood. They explore the symbolic ties to one’s roots, often shaped by personal memory and collective histories.”

From Lebanese artist Ziad Antar’s dreamy and edgy photographs of abandoned and unfinished buildings in Beirut and on the Lebanese coast and Saudi artist Moath Alofi’s series of desolated mosques along the winding road to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, to Palestinian Taysir Batniji’s “Just in Case #2” (2024), portraying images of a series of keys representative of feelings of loss and exile, the photographic works on show oscillate between feelings of pride, belonging, loss and longing.

The "Al Mihrab" exhibition at Doha Fire Station. (Supplied)

A poem by Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish titled “I Belong There,” appears on one wall between the display of several photographs reflecting through words many of the feelings expressed in the images on display. “I belong there. I have many memories. I was born as everyone is born […] I have lived on the land long before swords turned man into prey. I belong there.”

Elsewhere in Tasweer, a solo exhibition at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on the works of Moroccan photographer and filmmaker Daoud Aoulad-Syad titled “Territories of the Instant” presents the essence of Moroccan popular culture and remote regions in the country. Another exhibition, “Threads of Light: Stories from the Tasweer Single Image Awards,” presents 31 captivating images from 2023 and 2024 awards highlighting the extraordinary in daily life, including sacred traditions in Oman, dynamic street scenes in Yemen and moments of contemporary change in Iraq and picturesque marine views of traditional boats in Doha.

As Berrada said of the festival, which can arguably apply to numerous works and shows in Tasweer this year: “It also reflects on the photographic medium itself — how image-making can question fixed and often deterministic categories of belonging and become a powerful tool for reimagining identity in a deeply interconnected world.”

 


Loli Bahia fronts Chanel’s latest jewelry campaign

Updated 10 May 2025
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Loli Bahia fronts Chanel’s latest jewelry campaign

DUBAI: Chanel cannot get enough of French Algerian model Loli Bahia. The French luxury house has tapped the model once again to front its latest campaign for the Chanel No. 5 jewelry collection.

The new pieces combine gold and diamonds to form the shape of the number five, a symbol closely associated with the brand’s identity. The collection includes rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings, all inspired by the enduring allure of the No. 5 brand.

In the campaign images, Bahia was seen wearing various pieces from the line, including number five-shaped drop earrings, a diamond pendant necklace, a gold bracelet featuring the numeral and matching rings. The designs incorporate both yellow and white gold and are detailed with diamonds.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by CHANEL (@chanelofficial)

Bahia has collaborated with Chanel on several occasions. Most recently, in January, she opened the runway show during Paris Haute Couture Week wearing an ensemble that combined the house’s signature tweed with pastel quilting.

The look featured a jacket with a quilted front panel in soft shades of pink, blue, yellow and green, contrasted with white tweed sleeves. The jacket was detailed with front pockets and Chanel’s signature buttons.

The in-demand model also wore a white tweed mini skirt, paired with a slim black belt featuring a gold buckle. The outfit was completed with two-tone Mary Jane heels in black and white, secured with gold buckle-adorned ankle straps.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by CHANEL (@chanelofficial)

In May 2024, she walked the Chanel Cruise 2024/2025 show in Marseille, France.

Bahia donned a green ensemble, composed of a knee-length pencil skirt paired with a matching top, layered over a white shirt boasting a hoodie collar.

That same year, in June, she walked for the brand during Paris Fashion Week as part of its fall/winter 2024-2025 collection unveiling.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by CHANEL (@chanelofficial)

She graced the runway in a two-piece ensemble comprising a tailored buttoned jacket complemented by a matching knee-length skirt in a delicate tweed fabric. Both garments were adorned with subtle black tassel details.

The model’s first campaign with Chanel was in 2022, when she was just 19 years old. It was Chanel’s Metiers d’Art spring 2022 campaign, shot by fashion photographer Mikael Jansson.

In the campaign, Bahia displayed the savoir faire of artisans via tailored jackets, logo-emblazoned leather gloves, wide-brimmed hats, embellished mini-dresses and ornate bangles, necklaces and earrings.


Where We Are Going Today: Matcha Cloud

Updated 10 May 2025
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Where We Are Going Today: Matcha Cloud

There is something instantly charming about Matcha Cloud — from the soft pink packaging to the handwritten “To the matcha lover only” on the box.

This brand knows its audience, and it delivers an experience that feels like a warm, cozy hug.

I ordered everything separately: the Premium Ceremonial Grade Matcha that came with a cute sleeve, and four flavor syrups — Apple Pie, Gingerbread, Caramel Gingerbread, and Cinnamon Cookie.

Each item came in one box, with themed packaging that made the whole order feel cohesive and thoughtful.

The matcha itself is fresh, smooth and vibrant — exactly what you want from ceremonial grade.

It blended well with oat milk and delivered a balanced, clean taste without bitterness. The sleeve was perfect for holding my cup around.

Now to the flavor syrups, they are playful and creative. Especially the cinnamon cookie one, which gave cozy winter vibes.

But if I am being honest, the taste of the syrups was not as deep or rich as I hoped. They add sweetness and aroma, but I found myself wishing they had more natural flavor and less artificial aftertaste.

Still, for matcha lovers who enjoy a touch of customization or want to try fun new twists, Matcha Cloud offers a refreshing take.

It is not just about quality, it is about joy — and this brand knows how to deliver that.

For more information, check their Instagram @matcha.cloud.ksa.
 


Pakistani artists unite in powerful show of solidarity to raise funds for Gaza

Updated 09 May 2025
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Pakistani artists unite in powerful show of solidarity to raise funds for Gaza

  • The participants reflection on the Palestinian cause through dialogue, paintings, sculptures, theater, music and film
  • Proceeds of the artworks sold at the humanitarian art camp and others up for auction will go to the Palestinian embassy

ISLAMABAD: Around 150 Pakistani artists gathered in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to participate in a eight-day humanitarian art camp to raise funds for people affected by Israeli military offensive in Gaza, the head of Silk Road Culture Center said this week, in a remarkable show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

The camp, “Art for Life – Art for Gaza,” brought together musicians, writers and performers from across Pakistan who presented series of multidisciplinary performances and visual art displays to raise funds for the war-torn people of Gaza.

The event began on April 30 and ended on May 7, amid renewed Israeli strikes on the Palestinian enclave. Israeli’s 18-month war against Hamas has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, Palestinian officials say.

“The idea [behind the event] was to empathize with the suffering people of Palestine,” Jamal Shah, chairman of the Silk Road Culture Center, told Arab News on Wednesday, without sharing details of the total funds raised.

Jamal Shah, Pakistani artist and chairman of Silk Road Culture Center, records live art performance to express solidarity with Gaza, in Islamabad on May 6, 2025. (AN Photo)

A wide range of artworks, including paintings, sculptures, calligraphy, origami and mixed media, were created, exhibited and sold at the event, according to Shah. Many of the pieces are still up for auction, with proceeds pledged to the Palestinian embassy in Pakistan to support humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza.

The participating artists engaged in dialogue around the Palestinian cause and expressed their reflections through paintings, sculptures, theater, music and film at the event.

“My depiction shows their flag and different elements. The golden color represents pain and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Atif Ayub, a contemprary artist from Lahore, describing his installation that combined symbolic imagery focusing on the year 1988 that marked the establishment of the State of Palestine.

“It’s all about shared humanity and emotion.”

Pakistani artists paint during a live performance in solidarity with the people of Gaza, at the Silk Road Culture Center in Islamabad on May 6, 2025. (AN Photo)

The final two days featured live painting sessions, with artists painting silhouettes of performers in real time. These sessions were accompanied by musical performances, skits and poetry readings.

Pakistani singers and musicians such as Arieb, 360 Degrees, Maddy and Sam performed original pieces dedicated to Palestine, contributing to the emotional tone of the event.

Zeeshan Usman Khattak, a filmmaker from the northwestern city of Peshawar, said their collaborative work was a visual metaphor for the crisis in Gaza.

“There was a live performance behind the canvas and we were capturing the shadows,” Khattak said of their live performance. “Those movements reflected the dance of life and death, the aggression, the loss.”

Visitors attend the eight-day art workshop to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, at the Silk Road Culture Center in Islamabad on May 6, 2025. (AN Photo)

Wednesday’s closing ceremony was attended by ambassadors from Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, Syria and Romania, along with cultural attachés from China and Iran as well as representatives from the French film community.

Summera Jawad, a professor who teaches fine arts at Lahore’s Punjab University, highlighted the community-driven nature of the initiative.

“Artists are not just performing or creating here, they’re also contributing to the exhibition and donating their artworks for the cause,” she said.


Saudi ‘farm for experimentation’ on show in Milan exhibition 

Updated 09 May 2025
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Saudi ‘farm for experimentation’ on show in Milan exhibition 

  • The curators of the Saudi Pavilion at the Triennale Milano discuss their Al-Ahsa-inspired work 

AL-AHSA: Saudi Arabia’s lush oasis of Al-Ahsa will be in full bloom in Italy next week at the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, which runs from May 13 to Nov. 9 at Milan’s Palazzo dell’Arte. 

Al-Ahsa is officially recognized as the world’s largest oasis, and is home to more than 2.5 million date palms.  

The Kingdom’s debut pavilion at the exhibition is “Maghras: A Farm for Experimentation,” which, according to the exhibition’s website, is “structured as a transplanted maghras — a unit of land demarcated by four palm trees” and “symbolically frames the dialogues, material traces, soundscapes of field recordings, and speculative gestures emerging from the space.” 

Date harvest spread across two maghras_Image by Alejandro Stein. (Supplied)

The pavilion, commissioned by the Architecture and Design Commission under the Ministry of Culture, and curated by longtime friends Lulu Almana and Sara Al-Omran, along with US-based creative director Alejandro Stein, is inspired by Al-Ahsa’s Al-Sbakh Farm, established by the late Noura AlMousa. The farm is now managed by the Abdulmonem Alrashed Humanitarian Foundation (named after its founder, AlMousa’s son) and the Noura AlMousa House for Culture and Arts, housed in AlMousa’s former home. 

“We’re really continuing on the lineage of the matriarch,” Al-Omran tells Arab News when we meet the curators at the farm. “Her spirit feels very present because she really cared about craft and culture.” 

Almana and Al-Omran commissioned three Saudi artists to work on the pavilion: Leen Ajlan, a London-based designer from Jeddah; Mohammad Alfaraj, a contemporary artist whose family have been farming in Al-Ahsa for generations; and Tara Aldughaither, founder of Sawtasura, an audio research and learning platform focused primarily on female voices.  

(Supplied)

Through videos, sound installations, and participatory programs, the pavilion will invite visitors to engage with the evolving agricultural ecosystems of Al-Ahsa.  

The maghras concept symbolically ties the exhibition to the land, offering an immersive experience that bridges past traditions with contemporary agricultural practices. 

“Technically, there are three participating artists but it’s more than that — there is a big team,” Almana says. “Then there’s all the research that’s being displayed through illustrations and maps and texts that the team worked on. There’s also all the programs and workshops that have been a big part of it.” The fruits of this collective effort will be published in a book later this year.   

Al-Omran explains that her grandparents are from Al-Ahsa. “I always hear, particularly from my grandfather, these stories of Al-Ahsa. And when he speaks about it, it feels like this mythical place that doesn’t really connect to what I see here (now),” she says. “I grew up in (Alkhobar), but would come here every week. Many of my best memories were here; running around on the farm, seeing the frogs and the rabbits and the sheep and playing around. And also understanding seasons and seeing crops and produce. But through conversations with him, I saw this contrast of the place that he talks about and the place I’m witnessing. And I realize that it’s really within a lifetime that the environment has shifted so much.” 

A workshop in the ancient village of Battaliyah_Image courtesy of Maghras. (Supplied)

Al-Omran’s family, including her grandfather, attended the opening event at Al-Sbakh Farm last autumn, where they saw their hometown celebrated in a new light. 

“They’re proud. They’re really happy to see that Al-Ahsa is spoken about,” Al-Omran says. “They see that it’s not just about the past, but a way of thinking about the future.” 

The unfolding narrative of the project has emphasized community engagement. “It was really nice and natural,” says Almana. “It didn’t feel forced in any way. People were saying, ‘You’re doing something important.’ It felt impactful despite its small gestures.” 

After nearly a decade of living abroad in large, congested cities including London and New York, Almana says the initial intention for this project, for her, “was that I needed to get rooted into a place, build knowledge, and build a community of like-minded people who share similar concerns, questions and values: How do we preserve the identity of a place that’s constantly changing? How do we share our concerns and ideas for regeneration, for reviving certain things? It matters to build a community around these questions. Then everything becomes more meaningful and interesting.” 

Almana had only visited Al-Ahsa briefly up until five years ago, during COVID, when she finally spent a significant amount of time there. She found the place inspirational. “It hit me that there’s this urban-rural tension. The big cities get attention, but the rural, historic agricultural places are overshadowed. I wanted to dive into agriculture and build a community of like-minded people,” she says. 

Almana’s partnership with Al-Omran added an insider’s perspective to the project. In Milan, visitors will experience the “true essence” of Al-Ahsa, the pair say.  

“We really wanted to represent Maghras in the most authentic way,” Almana explains. “It’s a community-based project within a morphing landscape, not just a static thing.” 

And Milan, she hopes, is just the start. “We want this to grow into something longer-term, and we’ve conveyed that to the ministry, which supports this vision,” she says. 

Al-Omran stresses the amount of research that was involved in creating the pavilion. “We’re looking at a display of research material that we assembled for our first event back in October. And at that point we had spent about three or four months looking at archival research and doing a lot of interviews.” 

The first activation was both a presentation and a checkpoint.  

“We wanted to take a moment to sift through the material we’d come across and the conversations we’d listened to. It was important to do that during the opening, where we welcomed the community and spoke about the project, because it was important to hear people’s reflections on the research as it emerges; we felt that would influence the direction,” she says. 

“Sometimes we don’t really realize what’s lost until generations have passed. And it felt like we were in a moment where the shifts are happening,” she continues. “So it felt urgent to talk about it now, while that generation is still around.”