dzٳ’s brings Safeya Binzagr work to Riyadh for Cultural Investment Conference
dzٳ’s brings Safeya Binzagr work to Riyadh for Cultural Investment Conference /node/2617636/lifestyle
dzٳ’s brings Safeya Binzagr work to Riyadh for Cultural Investment Conference
‘Coffee Shop in Madina Road’ - Safeya Binzagr. (Supplied)
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Adam Grundey
dzٳ’s brings Safeya Binzagr work to Riyadh for Cultural Investment Conference
Updated 8 sec ago
Adam Grundey
RIYADH: At the Kingdom’s inaugural Cultural Investment Conference, which opened in Riyadh on Sept. 29, auction house dzٳ’s presented a rare and significant acquisition from the Arab world: a piece by the late Safeya Binzagr, a seminal figure in the Saudi modern-art scene.
“Coffee Shop in Madina Road” was painted in 1968, the same year in which Binzagr held her first exhibition with her peer, and fellow art pioneer, Mounirah Mosly in Jeddah.
“(That exhibition) marked an early, visible moment for women artists in the Kingdom’s modern scene, shaping expectations for subsequent generations,” Alexandra Roy, dzٳ’s head of sale, Modern and Contemporary Middle East, told Arab News.
Binzagr’s influence stretched well beyond her work. Perhaps even more significant is the eponymous cultural center she opened in Jeddah, which, Roy said, “cemented her role in preserving and presenting Saudi cultural narratives to the public.”
It also helped bring through a new generation of Saudi women artists. One of the center’s former students, Daniah Alsaleh, told Arab News soon after Binzagr’s death last year: “Safeya was a true pioneer, dedicated to both art and education, and her contributions will continue to inspire many. I am incredibly grateful for the impact she had on my artistic journey.”
“Safeya also collected traditional costumes and rarely sold or gifted unique painted works and actually stopped selling in the mid-1970s — a stance that placed artistic and cultural preservation above commercial circulation, while intensifying institutional interest and long-term esteem for her oeuvre,” Roy noted.
That stance also means that Binzagr’s works rarely feature at auction.
“Works like this are exceptionally scarce — making any appearance on the market a notable event — and very few are in private hands,” Roy said. “It’s from 1968, placing it at the very start of her public career and within the formative phase in which her visual language and cultural preoccupations were taking shape.
“Seen against the backdrop of her later museum recognition, the work speaks to an artist whose practice is now preserved institutionally,” she continued. “So this early example carries both historical and documentary weight in the narrative of Saudi modern art.”
Recipes for success: Chef Mevish Appadoo offers advice and a tasty Greek salad recipe
Updated 2 min 36 sec ago
Hams Saleh
DUBAI: Long before he led professional kitchens or perfected complex stocks, Mevish Appadoo, now head chef at Twine — a Mediterranean restaurant in Dubai — was just a teenager in Mauritius captivated by the aromas coming from his grandfather’s stove.
“I was always telling my parents and my grandmother, ‘One day I will cook like Grandpa,’” Appadoo told Arab News. “This stayed in my head.”
At 17, after dropping out of school, he made the leap into the culinary world. What began as a boy’s dream quickly turned into a career path marked by discipline, patience and an enduring passion for process. Now aged 32, with years of experience behind him, including time spent as a ramen chef, he has developed a leadership style shaped by old-school mentorship and modern sensibilities.
Mevish Appadoo is the head chef at Twine. (Supplied)
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
You know, in the kitchen, we always need to wash our hands, but I wasn’t drying my hands properly before seasoning. I’d get shouted at a lot by the chef. When your hands are wet, the seasoning gets stuck to your fingers, so you don’t have control (over it).
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
You need to have patience. You can’t just cook very fast. The food will never be good if you don’t give it the time it’s supposed to take to cook. Anyone can cook pasta in five minutes, but it’s not going to be the same as pasta that takes 15 minutes.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
Salt. It’s so important, and there are lots of people who don’t know when or how to use it. If it’s a stock or soup, you can put the salt in at the last minute. But if you’re cooking a meat dish, you need the salt at the beginning to help it penetrate the meat and make it more flavorful.
When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?
To be honest, I did that when I first started as a chef, because I thought I knew more than everyone. But over time, especially when I became a sous-chef at that level, I stopped doing it. Now what I do is I go, eat, pay my bill, and if I have any complaints, or even compliments, I try to go directly to the chef. I never go to the manager or the waiter because I don’t want it to look like a complaint. I just go to the chef and tell him, “I liked this.” Or “Maybe you should try this.” Things like that.
What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants?
I would say it starts with the service. If they don’t treat you well at the beginning, it affects everything. If they take 15 minutes to bring you the menu, or they don’t smile, or you order still water and they bring sparkling, your mood starts to drop. That’s how guests start to complain. Sometimes, even if you give them good food, everything that happened before has already spoiled the experience.
What’s your favorite cuisine or dish to eat?
I’m not a fan of big restaurants or big culinary spaces, even though that’s where I work. I prefer to eat in small cafeterias. My favorite dish in Dubai is omelet, paratha with cheese, and Oman chips. I could eat that every day.
Twine is a Mediterranean restaurant in Dubai. (Supplied)
What’s your go-to dish to cook quickly at home?
I always prefer simple food. So, noodles — but Mauritian noodles. They’re very different. They’re kind of like ramen, but everything is different, the stock, the noodles themselves, and the garnish.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
At work, I love to make stocks — chicken stock, beef stock… — to use as a base for sauces. It requires a lot of steps. If I’m at home, I love to cook biryani. That also requires many steps. Everything that has stages excites me… there’s something about following that process. The steps are what make it pleasurable to cook.
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?
Before, I was a chef at a Japanese restaurant where we made ramen. It was very challenging to get the taste of the soup right. Ramen broth has to cook for six to eight hours. You can’t miss a step. You can’t put it on a high flame, it needs to be controlled very, very delicately. When people eat ramen, they think it’s about the meat or the egg or the noodle. No, it’s about the soup. The soup is what makes it what it should be.
As a head chef, what are you like?
I would say I’m a mix of generations. Because I started very young, I never trained with people my age; all the chefs who trained me were old — in their sixties. I don’t know how to describe them, but they really made me strong. Without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. So many people tell me, “You’re very young. How can you do this? How can you do that?” I hope (those chefs) can hear me when I say this is all because of them. Now I try to bring that experience to the new generation and adapt how I guide them, because they are not like the generation before. You can’t just shout at them. They understand things differently now.
Chef Mevish’s Greek watermelon and feta salad with honey zaatar dressing
Chef Mevish’s Greek watermelon and feta salad with honey zaatar dressing. (Supplied)
Ingredients for 1 portion:
Salad
25g Watermelon
25g feta
10g roasted almonds
15g cucumber
5g kalamata olives
Fresh herb salad
2g mint leaves
2g zaatar
2g dill leaves
2g parsley
2g rucola
Dressing
6ml olive oil
2ml lemon juice
4ml honey
3g chopped fresh zaatar
Salt and pepper for tasting
Directions:
Cut the watermelon and feta into cubes.
Roast the almonds and slice.
Shave the cucumber and form it into rolls.
Dehydrate the kalamata olives in a food dehydrator or oven at 50-60°C for one hour.
Once the kalamata olives are dehydrated, blend them into a powder using a blender.
In a separate bowl, prepare the honey zaatar dressing by combining olive oil, lemon juice, honey, chopped fresh zaatar and salt and pepper to taste.
Then make the Fresh Herb Salad by mixing mint leaves, zaatar, dill leaves, parsley and rucola, then add a little bit of the dressing.
Where We Are Going Today: Jareesh Chocolate in Riyadh
Updated 03 October 2025
Waad Hussain
RIYADH: If you are in Riyadh and want to try something completely different, visit Jareesh Chocolate.
This new creation is the result of a collaboration between food artist Omar Sartawi and Diplomat Sweets, and it will immediately catch your attention — Jareesh, one of Ƶ’s oldest and most traditional dishes, combined with chocolate?
The first bite will honestly surprise you. The chocolate itself is smooth and sweet but then comes the twist: little bursts of texture from the jareesh that creates a playful, crackling sensation in your mouth. It is both strange and exciting, a mix of familiar flavors with a completely new texture. That “pop” is what makes the whole experience memorable, giving it a unique character.
The jareesh adds a nutty, earthy undertone that balances nicely with the richness of the white chocolate. It is not overwhelming or gimmicky; instead, it feels like a respectful blend of heritage and modern taste. This will appeal to people who enjoy trying something bold and different but still want it to be enjoyable rather than experimental for the sake of it.
Overall, Jareesh Chocolate is a successful attempt at reimagining tradition through something as simple as a chocolate bar. It is unusual, playful, and definitely worth trying at least once.
The price is 55 Saudi riyals (about $14.50), which feels slightly pricey for its size, but considering the concept and craftsmanship, it is justified because of its specialty appeal.
You can find it at all Diplomat Sweets stores in Riyadh, but you can also order it online. For more information check their Instagram: @diplomat_sweets
Spotify launches first ‘Loud & Clear’ report in Ƶ, spotlighting royalties and artist growth
Updated 02 October 2025
Waad Hussain
RIYADH: Spotify has released its first Saudi “Loud & Clear report, highlighting the rise of the Kingdom’s music industry, where local artists are leveraging global discovery into sustainable careers.
According to the report, Saudi artists generated more than SR13 million ($3.5 million) in royalties on Spotify in 2024 — a 76 percent increase from the previous year and more than double the total in 2022. At the same time, Saudi artists were discovered by first-time listeners more than 220 million times. According to Spotify, more than 90 percent of royalties came from audiences outside the Kingdom.
Saudi musicians perform live at Spotify’s Loud & Clear Ƶ edition, highlighting the diversity and creativity shaping the Kingdom’s sound. (Supplied)
“Ƶ is one of the most exciting music markets in the Middle East today. If you look back just a decade, much of the scene was underground. Fast-forward to now, and the story is very different: Artists are reaching audiences at scale, royalties are growing fast, and the ecosystem is buzzing with possibility,” said Akshat Harbola, managing director for Spotify MENAP.
He added that the momentum was “undeniable,” noting that Ƶ’s Music Commission projects the industry could become a half-billion-dollar market within the next decade. “To realize that vision, every stakeholder needs to come together, and the time to start that conversation is now,” he said.
The Loud & Clear event in Riyadh on Thursday was designed as a conversation-starter, bringing together artists, industry leaders and fans to examine how streaming revenues are shaping careers. Harbola described the milestone as proof that music is becoming a viable profession in the Kingdom. “We celebrated some powerful wins, more than SR13 million in royalties generated, with many Saudi artists now generating over SR100,000 last year. This is proof that music can become a sustainable career,” he said.
Spotify MENAP Managing Director Akshat Harbola and Saudi Music Commission CEO Paul Pacifico discuss the Kingdom’s fast-growing music industry during the first Loud & Clear event in Riyadh. (Supplied)
Spotify’s report also showed that Saudi music consumption on the platform has grown by nearly 200 percent since 2020, fueled by local pride and younger audiences. Harbola emphasized that the goal is not only growth but transparency: “By breaking down how royalties flow, how rights are protected, and how artists can truly earn from their work, we can build a more transparent and sustainable system from day one.”
What stood out most, he said, was the diversity of the Saudi music scene. “Of course, Tarab remains a powerful genre, but alongside it you now have electronic producers filling global arenas, and singer-songwriters blending Arabic and English in ways that feel fresh and original,” Harbola said, citing acoustic performances that showcased the mix of languages and styles now defining the Kingdom’s sound.
Audience at Beast House, JAX District, Riyadh, attending the launch of Spotify’s first Loud & Clear report in Ƶ, which revealed over SAR 13 million in royalties generated by Saudi artists in 2024. (Supplied)
Spotify has already launched initiatives such as RADAR Arabia, EQUAL Arabia, and Fresh Finds Saudi to support emerging talent. Harbola underlined that discovery remains at the heart of the platform. “In 2024 alone, Spotify helped drive more than 220 million discoveries of Saudi artists worldwide,” he said.
Looking ahead, Spotify announced a new Saudi campaign, The GM of Vibes, celebrating the creativity and energy of the Kingdom’s listeners. “We’re incredibly focused on our mission to support artists and to educate music fans about streaming music legally. The more they stream, the more their favorite artists can sustain a living from their art,” Harbola said.
As Ƶ’s music ecosystem accelerates under Vision 2030, Spotify’s data-driven push for transparency signals a new era where artists are not only being heard but increasingly rewarded.
Saudi artist Muhannad Shono to unveil new work at launch of Uzbek art center
The Saudi artist was in residence at Tashkent’s Center for Contemporary Art this summer
Updated 02 October 2025
Jasmine Bager
TASHKENT: Uzbekistan’s Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) officially opens in the Uzbek capital in March 2026, but its programming and groundwork have already begun — and a Saudi artist is a major part of this unfolding journey.
The CCA — billed as the first institution of its kind in Central Asia — is helmed by artistic director and chief curator, Sara Raza, a London-born, New York–based curator, writer, and educator.
“I’ve been one of the few curators for the last 20 years looking at the post-Soviet space — particularly Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East,” Raza told Arab News. “A lot of my work is respectfully looking at the dialogue between East-East.”
In time for spring 2026, the CCA will launch two major annual initiatives: the multidisciplinary Navruz Gala and the citywide Tashkent Public Art Festival, as well as two landmark exhibitions, the first of which — “Hikmah” (the Uzbek, Farsi and Arabic word for wisdom) — will bring together major contemporary art voices including Saudi multidisciplinary artist and curator Muhannad Shono.
Shono was an artist-in-residence at the CCA in May this year, and the results of his time there will be showcased in “Hikmah.”
“Muhannad was invited as one of the residents because part of my work is also to encourage collaboration within the context of allowing an artist to just think,” Raza said. “I’m really fortunate that I’ve worked with living artists and I have a practice where I’ve often worked with artists. I interviewed him and I got to really get inside his mind, so that’s why he was invited.”
As part of his research for the residency, Shono visited The Sun Heliocomplex near Tashkent — a Soviet-era solar furnace in the Parkent district that concentrates sunlight for high-temperature material research.
“He’s somebody who works with these materials like carbon — he’s interested in the notion of the sun, water, filtration, so he’s making us something very scientific and special,” Raza said.
The CCA will be housed in Tashkent’s first diesel power station, constructed in 1912 to electrify the city’s tramline. More than a century later, French architects Studio KO have preserved its industrial structure while transforming the interior into a versatile venue. Much in the vein of Ƶ’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) — built on the site of Oil Well No. 7, where the Kingdom first struck black gold — the CCA has shifted from generating mechanical power to generating art and culture, activating the land in a new way.
Designed by Wilhelm Heinzelmann, the architect behind landmarks such as the Palace of Grand Duke Romanov and the Treasury Chamber, the building stands as a testament to Tashkent’s architectural heritage.
“We’re still in the last phase of construction at CCA. But it’s more than a building—it’s also about programming and audience,” Raza said. “I’m deeply excited because I’ve been working towards this for 20 years, and I get to do something that has personal significance for me.”
She is quick to credit the chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, Gayane Umerova, for her support. The pair have known each other for many years, having met when Umerova was a student at dzٳ’s Institute of Art in London, where Raza was teaching.
“She’s been supportive of me, I’ve been supportive of her. We’re peers, we’re friends, we ideate, and I have deep admiration for what she’s achieved. She was born here, a native Tashkent person, with a country that has such a young population. And I know how to speak to younger people” Raza said.
“And it was really important for me as somebody who’s going to build something — it’s not just for today and tomorrow; it’s for the long haul. I get to be part of that journey and establish the foundation for it.”
As part of the CCA’s programming, this month saw the launch of Clubistan, the CCA’s youth-led program for 16-21-year-olds, curated with Raza and a 19-year-old student. Raza will also later launch CCA Radio, a bi-weekly show including DJ sets, instrumental performances and hybrid formats.
Umerova said of the upcoming CCA opening: “The CCA is the realization of a long-term vision to firmly position Uzbekistan at the heart of global cultural dialogue. Now, with the launch of the center, that vision comes to life through a pioneering program that connects contemporary creativity with cultural legacy on an international stage.”
Sarah Taibah heads into the unknown with horror film ‘Hoba’ /node/2617521/lifestyle
Sarah Taibah heads into the unknown with horror film ‘Hoba’
The Saudi actress discusses her latest role as a villainous second wife
Updated 02 October 2025
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: When Saudi multi-hyphenate Sarah Taibah speaks about her craft, there’s an electric conviction to her words. Taibah is an artist, writer, filmmaker and actor, and she describes her creative life as a continuous pursuit of inspiration.
“I think I’ve always been a creative person,” she tells Arab News. “In the beginning, I thought that being interested in many different things was me not being able to focus. But then I realized that I am an artist. So one of the major things, for me, is to do what I feel strongly about and whatever inspires me.”
“Hoba” tells the story of a devoted wife and mother — Amani (played by Bdoor Mohammed) — whose life begins to unravel when her husband returns home with a second wife, Zahra (Sarah Taibah), and an unseen dark force infiltrates her home. (Supplied)
That restless curiosity is what first nudged Taibah toward acting.
“I was doing my Master of Fine Arts degree in San Francisco, and one of my good friends asked me to act in her short film,” she says. “I just did it because I’m a creative person, not because I wanted to be an actress. And this short film really did well and went to so many festivals, and I fell in love with acting. It reminded me of all the memories that I kind of blocked from being a kid. I was always on stage in school. I’d always been in school plays and all that.”
Now, Taibah is set to challenge herself as never before with “Hoba” (‘The Vile’), an upcoming Emirati horror film directed by Majid Al-Ansari, known for the critically-acclaimed 2015 film “Zinzana.”
“I got so excited about ‘Hoba’ for two reasons,” Taibah says. “First, I like the director — I remember seeing his first film, and I thought that he does things differently. Second, I really appreciated him not typecasting me. I’m always cast by directors in certain roles that are really similar to my character — as Sarah — but with Majid, he saw something else. The character couldn’t be more different than me. I’ve never been this challenged — not only because she’s the villain of the movie, but also because it allowed me to experience different techniques, to tap into something a bit supernatural; something I have zero clue how to relate to.”
Sarah Taibah is an artist, writer, filmmaker and actor, and she describes her creative life as a continuous pursuit of inspiration. (Supplied)
“Hoba” tells the story of a devoted wife and mother — Amani (played by Bdoor Mohammed) — whose life begins to unravel when her husband returns home with a second wife, Zahra (Taibah), and an unseen dark force infiltrates her home. Zahra is as fascinating as she is frightening.
“Zahra is a very, very strong character with a strong presence,” Taibah says. “She has this toxic charm of a manipulative person, which is a very tricky part to play in horror films. It’s not like drama where you dig deep into the past of a character; you gotta work with what you have. She’s hard to really relate to or love, but I aspire for her to be that character that you really, really despise but also like for a reason that you hate yourself for. She’s fun — she’s a fun character to play.”
Stepping into the horror genre presented its own set of challenges. “It was less character work than I do with other genres,” says the 36-year-old. “It was more about, ‘We are here, we are here now. We don’t know.’ Ninety-nine percent of the film happens indoors, in one location. It could be anywhere in the world. It’s not a film where you treat the city as a character. It’s just a very confined area — just you and your psychological issues. It was such an interesting journey. I treated the film differently during preparation and tapped into something really unknown for me, honestly.”
The project also reflects a broader creative movement sweeping the Middle East. Genre filmmaking is on the rise, and Taibah herself has helped propel it forward as one of the writers of “Hwjn,” a fantasy about a romance between a djinn and a human.
“I feel it’s about time to tap into different genres and to challenge the audience (to watch something different) from what they’re used to watching, like drama or comedy,” she says. “It’s time to play with horror, magical realism, and fantasy. I feel like it’s such a blank canvas, and audiences are really hungry to see more from the region. Entering a cinema is not just about relatability — what’s true and realistic; it’s a place where you escape real life into this magical world. It’s tricky to do it right, and that’s one of the things that made me say yes to ‘Hoba.’ I truly believe in the director’s vision and the references he likes. He loves Korean horror films, for example. And I know that this is a person who’s making this attempt with knowledge and with taste.”
As for what audiences can expect when “Hoba” arrives at the end of October, Taibah says: “It’s a horror film, and we don’t have many of these (in Arab cinema). And also it has really good cinematography. I feel like it’s going to be more of a complete experience. Good cinematography, good director, good cast.”
However, she adds: “I haven’t seen it yet. I hope it’s as good as I think.”
