Qatar Museums brings art to the Paris Olympics

On view in the “Olympism: More Than a Dream” exhibition is memorabilia, including Qatar’s first-ever Olympic medal. (Supplied)
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Updated 11 August 2024
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Qatar Museums brings art to the Paris Olympics

DUBAI: What does art have to do with the Olympics? Qatar Museums, the Gulf nation’s preeminent government institution for art and culture, believes that art is a way to further spur cultural diplomacy and highlight the country’s unique heritage and cultural scene in line with its 40-year participation in the Olympics.

Qatar Museums is celebrating the 2024 Summer Olympics with the staging of several exhibitions and public events in Paris, including art shows, book launches and the takeover of renowned restaurant Le Dali at Le Meurice hotel on Rue de Rivoli by Jiwan, an acclaimed restaurant located within Doha’s National Museum of Qatar, highlighting the rich culinary heritage of Qatari cuisine.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The series of events also includes the launch of the first-ever Arabic translation of writings, “Textes Choisis,” by Pierre de Coubertin, the French historian and visionary widely regarded as the father of the modern Olympic games. 

The project is anchored by two exhibitions curated by Qatar Museums and 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum: “Olympism: More Than a Dream Exhibition,” recording 40 years of Qatar’s participation in the Olympics since 1984, which runs until Aug. 25; and “Esports: A Game Changer,” which runs until Sept. 8 at the Residence Citeaux in Paris.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The latter exhibition explores how esports relates to gaming and traditional sports. It takes a sociological look at competitive gaming, defining it in relation to traditional sports and casual gaming, while also looking at its governing organizations and economies. On view are objects and documents that trace the history of esports, including the invention of the first electronic pinball machine almost a century ago and also snapshots of several of competitive gaming’s biggest contemporary stars. The final part of the show explores the future of esports in the gaming landscape and beyond, focusing on its societal, educational, recreational and occupational impacts.

On view in the “Olympism: More Than a Dream” exhibition is memorabilia, including Qatar’s first-ever Olympic medal, a bronze won by athlete Mohammed Suleiman in the 1,500 meter-running event during the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. 




On view in the “Olympism: More Than a Dream” exhibition is memorabilia, including Qatar’s first-ever Olympic medal, a bronze won by athlete Mohammed Suleiman in the 1,500 meter-running event during the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. (Supplied)

Another program highlight is the gold medal triumph of the “Golden Falcon,” Mutaz Barshim, who won gold in the high jump event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“In parallel with the Summer 2024 Olympics, the last few weeks witnessed Qatar Museums organizing a spectacular lineup of programs in Paris, affirming our longstanding commitment to cultural diplomacy and role in highlighting Qatar’s history and culture in the international arena,” Mohammed Saad Al-Rumaihi, CEO of Qatar Museums, told Arab News.

“Stemming from the 2014 Cultural Agreement between Qatar and France, the summer program continues the legacy of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture,” he added. “It celebrates a shared passion for sport in both countries, strengthens exchange and highlights Qatar’s offerings internationally.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The launch of the Olympism exhibition was attended including Qatar’s Ambassador to France Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al-Thani, Qatar Football Association President Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buenain and Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee Thani bin Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari, as well as the president of the Pierre de Coubertin Family Association, Alexandra de Navacelle de Coubertin.

The first part of the exhibition displays iconic Olympic artifacts from the museum’s collection, including Muhammad Ali’s left boxing glove from Rome 1960 and the Innsbruck 1964 Olympic torch.

The second part highlights key milestones in Qatar’s Olympic history, including the country’s debut at the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics and strong presence at the Tokyo 2020 Games. 

The rich artistic program that Qatar Museums is presenting during the Paris Olympics is organized to commemorate the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture, a Qatar Museums initiative, and the 2014 Cultural Agreement signed by Qatar and France.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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It is also not the first time that Qatar is supporting the Olympics through culture and art. During the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Qatar presented Bayt Qatar, a hospitality house presenting live music performances, exhibitions and even an outdoor souk. In 2012, Qatar Museums staged a Heya exhibition featuring the creations of 70 Arab sportswomen.

Al-Rumaihi said that these projects shed light on the unique culture of sportsmanship, highlighting “the diverse and vibrant aspects of Qatari sporting culture, and offer a unique opportunity for audiences in Paris and beyond to engage with the nation’s legacy and contemporary  achievements.”


Morocco’s tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade

Updated 58 min 38 sec ago
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Morocco’s tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade

  • Many attribute the near-disappearance of facial tattoos to Morocco’s changing religious attitudes in recent decades
  • The markings vary in design between the minority’s tribes and were used to signify the wearer’s origin while offering beauty and protection

IMILCHIL, Morocco: As a young girl growing up in the Atlas mountains, Hannou Mouloud’s family took her to have her chin tattooed with the cherished lines that generations of Moroccan Amazigh tribeswomen wore.
“When I was six, they told me tattoos were pretty adornments,” recalled the 67-year-old from Imilchil village of the once-common practice among women in North Africa’s Amazigh groups.
Long referred to as Befcerbers, many tribespeople from the area prefer to be called Amazigh, or Imazighen, which means “free people.”
Today, like in many of the Indigenous cultures across the world where facial tattoos were long prevalent, the practice has largely faded.
Many attribute the near-disappearance of facial tattoos to Morocco’s changing religious attitudes in recent decades, with interpretations of Islam where inked skin and other body modifications like piercings are prohibited taking hold.
“We would use charcoal to draw the designs on our faces, then a woman would prick the drawing with a needle until blood came out,” Mouloud told AFP, adding that they would rub the wound daily with a chewed green herb to deepen the tattoo’s color.
The markings vary in design between the minority’s tribes and were used to signify the wearer’s origin while offering beauty and protection.
Being tattooed would hurt, said Hannou Ait Mjane, 71, and “we couldn’t hold back our tears” but it “remains a tradition that our ancestors passed down to us.”

Amazigh women show their tattooed chin in the village of Imilchil in central Morocco's High Atlas Mountains on September on August 19, 2024. Many attribute the near-disappearance of facial tattoos to Morocco's changing religious attitudes in recent decades, with interpretations of Islam where inked skin and other body modifications like piercings are prohibited taking hold. (AFP)


Morocco has the largest Amazigh population in North Africa, with Tamazight, the community’s language, recognized as an official language alongside Arabic.
According to the most recent census in 2014, more than a quarter of Morocco’s 35 million inhabitants speak at least one dialect — Tarifit, Tamazight or Tachelhit.
Abdelouahed Finigue, a geography teacher and researcher from Imilchil, told AFP that women often had their chins, foreheads or hands tattooed.
“Some women had intimate areas tattooed as a wedding gift, expressing their love for their husband,” he added.
The designs held different meanings to the different communities.
“The woman, through her tattoos, expresses her beauty and her value as an individual independent of the man,” he said, explaining what the different shapes can mean.
“The circle, for example, represents the universe and beauty, just like the moon and the sun which occupied an important place in local rites,” he said.
But changing religious trends means fewer women are getting inked.
“In recent years, this custom has been tainted by preconceived ideas from Salafist currents,” he added, referring to a Sunni Islamist movement that seeks to return to the practices and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
Bassou Oujabbour, member of local development association AKHIAM, said women with the markings have faced social pressure.
“Fundamentalists sometimes describe tattooing as the devil’s book or as the first thing to be burned on the human body,” he said.
“Some women even removed the tattoos long after getting them for fear of punishment after death.”
 


Headlining designers announced for Riyadh Fashion Week

Updated 12 October 2024
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Headlining designers announced for Riyadh Fashion Week

DUBAI: Saudi fashion labels Adnan Akbar, Dar Alhanouf, Tima Abid, and Honayda will headline the upcoming second edition of Riyadh Fashion Week, which runs from Oct. 17-21.

Set to take place in three venues — Tuwaiq Palace, Digital City, and JAX District — the event will feature a series of runway shows, brand presentations, and a designer showroom.

The Saudi Fashion Commission-organized event will feature more than 30 Saudi designers, with Adnan Akbar, Dar Alhanouf, Tima Abid, and celebrity-loved Honayda among the headlining shows.

Other highlights include Waad AlOqaili, Khawla Alaiban, Atelier Hekayat and Yaha Albashiri, among others.

Burak Cakmak, CEO of the Fashion Commission, stated: “Riyadh Fashion Week stands at the forefront of positioning Saudi Arabia as a dynamic center for fashion and creativity. This event is a gateway for fostering homegrown talent, igniting new opportunities in fashion and retail, and driving both local and international engagement. By creating a platform for cultural exchange, we are celebrating the diversity and innovation of Saudi designers while elevating their impact on the global fashion stage.


Ashley Park shows off Elie Saab look in New York

Updated 12 October 2024
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Ashley Park shows off Elie Saab look in New York

DUBAI: US actress and musician Ashley Park showed off a glittering gown by Lebanese designer Elie Saab in New York.

Best known for her portrayal of Mindy Chen on the Netflix comedy series “Emily in Paris,” the actress attended the Time100 Next gala in a halter-neck dress from Saab’s Fall 2024 collection. The figure-hugging number was embellished with spherical sequins and minute stars overlain on a geometric gridwork of beading.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The stars of the show are known for championing Arab designers, with Egyptian jewelry label Jude Benhalim nabbing a starring role in the latest season of the hit Netflix series that was released in September.

Throughout multiple scenes, the Cairo-based label’s pieces are featured prominently on several characters in different episodes.

In episode six of season five, the Ripple Ring in gold is seen on Emily Cooper, portrayed by Lily Collins. Also in episode six, Camille’s mother, Louise, played by Camille Japy, shines in the Droplet Earrings in white.

Additionally, Park’s character is spotted wearing the Elea Hoops in the same episode.

Benhalim, who is part-Libyan and part-Syrian and grew up in Egypt, founded her eponymous brand in 2011 when she was just 17 and has since gone on to release a number of lines that each pay tribute to her heritage, finding fans in a handful of celebrities.

Meanwhile, Elie Saab has no shortage of celebrity fans and recently unveiled his Spring/Summer 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week in front of a star-studded crowd.

The designer showcased a mesmerizing journey through the African savannah that felt fresh, vibrant, and completely devoid of tired clichés, according to the Associated Press’s Thomas Adamson.

Right from the start, Saab showed he wasn’t afraid to play with the safari staples — but with a twist. Safari suits, reimagined as roomy linen separates and sleek crepe jumpsuits, traded their usual khaki for the blazing red of fireball lilies, moody elephant gray, and the ochre dust of West Africa. It was a palette that brought the raw, natural beauty of the continent to life without falling into the predictable tropes. These looks weren’t the romanticized garb of the intrepid explorer; they were effortlessly chic, perfectly fitted for today’s cosmopolitan adventurer.


REVIEW: ‘Love is Blind, Habibi’ brings reality TV romance to the MENA region

Updated 12 October 2024
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REVIEW: ‘Love is Blind, Habibi’ brings reality TV romance to the MENA region

DUBAI: One of Netflix’s leading reality TV franchises brings its brand of romance to the MENA region with its new show “Love is Blind, Habibi,” where 20 eligible Arabs look for their soulmate, “sight unseen.”

For those unfamiliar with the concept, in the show the men and women interact with each other via pods, where the participants can meet on dates while separated by a wall, so they can only hear each other. Over the course of a few days, those who manage to make a connection will propose to their chosen one, again before they meet face-to-face.

The show, which releases on Oct. 10, will then follow the couples as they get to know each other in the real world, meet their respective families and friends, and prepare for their wedding — scheduled to take place four weeks after they leave the pods.

Hosted by Saudi actress Elham Ali and her husband, Khaled Saqr — both charismatic and congenial, almost as a foil to the contestants we’ll soon get acquainted with over the course of the nine episodes — the series quickly introduces the audiences to contestants from the region, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Iraq, Kuwait and more.

When it comes to first impressions, “Love is Blind, Habibi” stands out for bringing what feels like a sense of familiarity to a foreign concept like blind dating. The value systems surrounding families, friendships, work and life goals represent the region, with a modern spin on it, of course.

There is a surprising amount of solidarity among participants, and as they start to pair off — inevitably disappointing some — everyone comes together to celebrate the new couples. Unlike other iterations of “Love is Blind,” the Arab version shows maturity, respect and an openness that is refreshing to see.

But those looking for drama and wild antics will not be disappointed. Early red flags from both the men and women are ignored to rush into less-than-ideal matches. In a standout episode towards the middle of the season the couples all come together at a resort to interact with each other face-to-face and tensions run high almost immediately, which makes for delicious television.

The episode where the contestants meet their future partners’ family and friends is particularly explosive.

Overall, however, “Love is Blind Habibi” does not reinvent the wheel in any meaningful way. Most of the contestants fail to dig deep, mainly due to the experience’s shallow design and not necessarily because of major personality flaws.

But if you are looking to spend a few hours indulging your guilty pleasures, “Love is Blind Habibi” offers drama, high jinks and intrigue galore.

 


Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh: ‘We can celebrate tradition, but we really need to be open to change’ 

Updated 11 October 2024
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Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh: ‘We can celebrate tradition, but we really need to be open to change’ 

  • The Saudi artist discusses some of her favorite works and their common themes 

DUBAI: “I call myself a visual artist that focuses on social conditioning and memory.” That’s Saudi artist Daniah Alsaleh’s ‘elevator pitch.’ But, like all such handy soundbites, it fails to convey the complexity and ambition of her layered, multimedia works, which have seen her land several prestigious residencies and awards, including the 2019 Ithra Art Prize. 

For someone whose work has made such an impression on so many, Alsaleh took quite some time to convince herself she was ready to present that work, which at the time was largely influenced by Islamic geometry, to the world.  

“I was interested in art from a young age, but I never really had the opportunity — I went to school and university in Riyadh, where I was born,” Alsaleh tells Arab News. “It was when I moved to Jeddah that I really got into art. I studied at the atelier of Safeya Binzagr, who recently passed away, for probably five, six years. That’s how I really learned the basics of drawing, painting, color theory, shape and form. Then, every time I had the chance to travel abroad, I would take courses in paintings and life drawings. I got hooked on Islamic geometry, and then — after all these years of learning arts, probably around 10 years, I had the confidence to actually finish artworks.” 

Her first show was a group exhibition in 2012. “No one knew who I was, but a lot of the people asked about my work,” she says. In 2013, she joined the roster of artists at Athr Gallery. Now, she says, “it was getting serious,” and she decided to become a full-time artist. In 2014, she moved to London. 

“I decided to apply for a Master’s in Fine Art at Goldsmiths. I didn’t get in but they offered me a place on another program, which was called Computational Arts and that changed my practice completely, 180 degrees,” she says. “This program catered for artists with no background in technology and we were taught how to use physical computing to create installations, and coding as well — like processing and frameworks. I really got hooked. Machine learning resonated with me — we don’t call it AI, we call it machine learning; it’s a program that learns. It changed my practice completely from Islamic geometry to a more contemporary way of expressing myself.  

“I’m not an AI artist. I’m a visual artist,” she continues. “I have machine learning in my toolbox, next to my paints and next to my canvas and next to my videos and next to my audio files and next to my photos. And depending on the context, I just choose which tool I want to use.” 

As suggested by her elevator pitch, that context usually involves exploring our relationship with memory and media.  

“I’m interested in social conditioning in the everyday — things that we take at face value, things that we take for granted,” she says. “These things that we habitually do, where do they come from? And usually I look at media and how that affects us; how it affects our memory, what stays and what gets erased. And how we reprogram our memories, sometimes, just from looking at content on social media. So that’s really what my interest is.” 

Here, Alsaleh talks us through some of her most significant works. 

‘Restitution’ 

This is an example of my older work. It’s from 2017. You see this perfectly organized structure — five panels of hand-drawn Islamic patterns — but then there’s this random brushstroke across them all. That’s my intervention. It’s a commentary on how we are very hooked on celebrating tradition and practices. We can celebrate and appreciate history and tradition, but, at the same time, we really need to be open to change — accepting new things and new ideas. 

‘Sawtam’ 

This artwork — an audio-visual installation — was a big transition for me; a big jump from my paintings. It was created while I was still doing my Master’s, and it’s the piece that won the Ithra Art Prize in 2019. It addresses forms of expression. The visuals were inspired by Manfred Mohr, a German new-media artist who created similar images based on algorithms in the Sixties, and they move or vibrate every time the sound comes out. There were sounds coming from every screen — the pronunciation of the Arabic letters — and when you put them all together in one space, it’s like a cacophony of noise. It’s a commentary on how communication sometimes gets lost, or sometimes gets through. It has a lot of meanings, and it’s very layered, but it’s basically about communication and forms of expression.  

‘That Which Remains’ 

This is a large installation I did for the first edition of the Diriyah Biennale. Again, it’s about memory: collective memory versus individual memory. Collective memory is where we remember things in monuments and celebrations — like National Days. That’s where our collective memory is. But within individual memories, a lot of things get lost, especially when there’s a lot of development and change. So, it’s a — very gentle — commentary about what we’re witnessing and experiencing in Saudi Arabia right now: the individual memories of these characters on the cylinders, which are the buildings and the houses and the structures that are being developed and changed.  

The faces on the cylinders are machine-generated. They’re deep fakes. I collected my own data sets of faces, and then trained the machine to learn to create new faces for me. And then I took those new faces and transferred them onto the cylinders. The paintings are inside-out, so when the cylinder is lit, you can see these shadows of these faces. And then people who visit say, ‘Oh, she resembles my aunt, this resembles my uncle’ and so on. They might resemble them, because they have Saudi or Gulf aesthetics, and the machine learns what you focus on. So if my data set focuses on a certain aesthetic, that’s what it creates. But these people never existed. 

‘Evanesce’ 

This was actually based on my degree show at university. I have two identities: The Western identity and the Gulf identity. And whenever I’m in the West, the news is so different from the news you see in the Middle East. Like, since the Iraq War, all the images you see about Iraq are destruction and war and poverty and craziness and explosions and guns. But what I know about Iraq is culture and arts and literature and science. So for my degree show I collected all these images, Iraqi images, from the 40s, 50s and 60s, for the machine-learning program and created these new images with, like old photo aesthetics. But they’re all deep fakes. And “Evanesce” is a continuation of this research, but focused on the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema. I watched a lot of Egyptian movies, and I collected 15 tropes that are repeated in most of them — the extravagant stairways, the cars, answering the old classical telephone, the belly dancer, the family gathering over breakfast, the chaos in the morning, the protagonists and their friends, the embrace and the romance, the palm trees and the close up of certain buildings. I created data sets based on each trope, and then each data set was trained on a machine-learning program. So then I had 15 outputs of this machine learning based on these tropes, which I stitched together to create this 10-minute film. And this morphing from one image to the other that you see in the video just resembles how we remember things. Again, it’s a commentary about social conditioning. These movies are so prevalent and so important in the MENA region within conservative societies, but the images on screen really contradicted their culture and their values. So it’s a commentary on how, as a society, we watch these things that really contradict our belief system and tradition. But there’s some sort of… it’s similar to obsession. These movie stars and these movies were an obsession to a lot of people within conservative countries. It’s instilled in the collective memory and still resonates to this day. These movies spread from North Africa to the Middle East, to lots of regions where there are a lot of conservatives. So there’s a lot of tension and contradiction between these two worlds. 

‘Hinat’ 

This is an important piece for me. It was created during a residency I had in AlUla in 2022. It’s based on this Nabatean woman — Hinat — who has a tomb in (Hegra). That was very inspiring to me. Obviously, she was from a very prominent family, because she was wealthy enough to have a tomb for herself, and it was under her name. This installation is made up of collages of different views of AlUla and I cut out rectangles on each canvas, and I projected videos into the rectangles. These videos are inspired by Hinat, imagining her future generations, from her bloodline, living in AlUla and roaming around across these landscapes. And the videos were created by machine learning. I hired three ladies from AlUla. We went to different locations and got them to wear these different colorful fabrics. The we shot videos and created data sets from each video, and then trained the program, and it created these very ghostly, abstract figures that move across these landscapes. 

‘E Proxy’ 

This was part of a solo show I did in 2023. It’s a video in which a face morphs into an emoji and then morphs back into a face. It’s a commentary about the ubiquity of emojis and the way we express ourselves in emoticons and pictograms. It’s interesting to me and it’s important. You can’t express our range of emotions in, like, 10 or 20 smileys. It’s just so restrictive. So, what’s happening there? I’m not giving an answer, but I’m opening up a space for questioning ourselves. And, listen, I’m a big advocate of emojis — they help me save time. But I’m asking what is happening here: Is it conditioning us into being less expressive? Or are we conditioning it to be a tool to help us express ourselves? There is this duality. I mean, there’s no correct point of view; it’s very subjective. But it’s always worth raising these questions. 

‘The Gathering’ 

This was the result of another residency I did, supported by the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, with Catherine Gfeller, a French-Swiss artist. We wanted to know who are the females that are living in Riyadh — not necessarily Saudis — as it goes through this explosion of art and culture and infrastructure. I was born and raised in Riyadh — I live in Jeddah now, but I know Riyadh very well, and I’ve seen the changes. And I’m just in awe and disbelief at what I’m seeing. So, to cut a long story short, we did an open call, and there were 37 ladies who participated who came from 11 different countries — different backgrounds, different generations, different professions. We interviewed them and videoed those interviews, and my focus was on the emotional side of things: How do you deal with loneliness in a big city? What does love mean to you? What about resentfulness? How about forgiveness? Then the audio of the interviews kind of fades in and out. I put them all together as though we’re sharing our thoughts and emotions — a female gathering. And the videos were all manipulated by AI as well; it’s a layered effect, and it’s referencing the different aspects of emotion that we go through.  

‘36’ 

This was part of the same project as “The Gathering.” It’s a composite of the faces of all the women who took part, except for one lady who refused to take off her niqab, so I couldn’t include her in this image. I don’t think this was a new idea — I bet it’s been done many times before — but what I wanted was a commentary on… faced with this perception of what Saudi Arabia is and what Riyadh is and who the women there are… actually, it’s a multicultural city with diverse backgrounds. And when you see this image, you don’t know where the ‘person’ comes from, what their ethnic background is, among other things. You can think of many things when you look at that image.