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DUBAI: ATHR Gallery’s latest exhibition in AlUla, “Afterschool” showcases works that capture the hours after the school day finished, “bringing back memories of activities, scenery, experiences, interactions, rituals, and daily routines,” according to the show catalogue. Using media including photography, video games, painting, textiles, collage, and installations, five Gulf artists — Ahaad Almoudi, Basmah Felemban, Mohammad Alfaraj, Rami Farook, and Sara Abu Abdallah — depict “shared collective routines and memories across generations around ������Ƶ.”  

The show, curated by Rania Majinyan, is divided into three ‘paths’: Street, Park, and Home. It is, the catalogue states, “an invitation to take a journey down memory lane … reflecting on practices that we once felt free to do and others that felt restricted. Reminding us of small details and changes we experienced within a particular timeline, urging us to return to ourselves, to turn inward, and to hold onto moments of stillness despite being consumed by outer distractions.” 

Sarah Abu Abdallah 

‘Blanket No. 36’ and ‘Blanket No. 57’ 

The Street section of the exhibition includes two works from Abdallah’s “Blanket” series — a collection of digital images on woven cotton textiles — both of which show scenes of leisure time “acting as a reminder of the sudden, freeing, energizing activities we do after school … evoking an intimate dialogue.” “Blanket No. 36” displays a photograph taken in Abdallah’s hometown of Sanabes, in which a group of children gather round a barrel they’ve found in the street, “sparking investigative playfulness.” In “Blanket No. 57” a young boy and a man stand on the shoreline of the Red Sea off the Jeddah corniche, escaping their daily routines for a moment in nature. 

Rami Farook  

‘I Love You In God (only)’ 

Also in the Street section stands the Emirati artist’s large-scale painting of a piece of street art found in Jeddah, which shows a man in traditional dress alongside the words “I love you in the name of God.” The show catalogue says that Farook’s painting “represents the school’s brick walls, portraying expressive graffiti made by rebellious teens — marks you pass as you walk in and out of school.” Passing by such graffiti every day makes it seem routine — it becomes almost unnoticed over time. Indeed, the catalogue notes, “you don’t remember how powerful the imagery is until it’s provoked unannounced.” 

Mohammad Alfaraj   

‘The Last Session’ 

Al-Ahsa native Alfaraj contributes “The Last Session,” a series of photographs, to the show’s Park section. In June of this year, Alfaraj told Arab News of his work in general: “I’m always looking for metaphors and different ways of looking at the world and trying to piece it together as an enormous complex mosaic that I’m lucky to experience and be part of.” That’s instructive of “The Last Session” in which some of the images are simple shots of kids playing football or hanging on climbing frames, photographs that carry echoes of a time before so much of our lives were spent online or in front of various screens, while others are more abstract — “ghostly,” the catalogues suggests — “embodying the absence of playing (outside) … as part of our culture nowadays, especially after school.”  

Ahaad Alamoudi 

‘Winning Eagle’ 

“If I’m not having fun creating then there’s nothing in it for me,” Alamoudi told Arab News in a 2018 interview. “I use a lot of comedy in my work as a form of addressing serious topics.” That approach is clear in “Winning Eagle,” which is displayed in the exhibition’s Home section, where it is accompanied by another work from Sarah Abu Abdallah’s “Blanket” series. “Both prints are of album covers made in the late 90s and early 2000s,” the catalogue says. “These works trigger a random stream of music that we often listened to in our childhoods, symbolizing how music can carry you inward towards a constructed imaginative reality that (remains) with you.” Alamoudi’s collage features the cover of Saudi musician Rabah Sagar’s 1995 album “Empty of Feelings.”  

DUBAI: In the world’s most dynamic kitchens — from Paris to Riyadh — Chef Raffy Beylerian has spent more than 13 years refining a culinary philosophy that transcends borders, and he’s now brought that philosophy to Riyadh as head chef of Attaché, a new dining destination in the heart of the Diplomatic Quarter. 

A graduate of the prestigious École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse in Paris, Beylerian honed his craft in legendary establishments including the three-Michelin-starred Plaza Athénée and La Bastide Saint-Antoine in Grasse. 

His journey has taken him across continents, shaping a cuisine that blends classical French precision with the vibrant flavors of the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. Whether designing intricate tasting menus or leading high-end kitchen brigades, Beylerian’s approach is rooted in seasonality, sustainability, and an unwavering respect for ingredients. 

And his latest stop hasn’t disappointed him. “What surprised me was the level all the restaurants were at here,” he tells Arab News. “I wasn’t expecting this when I first moved here, but once I started going around while doing my market research, I realized ������Ƶ was a good place for food.” 

When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made? 

When I couldn’t get something right, I’d get frustrated and demotivated. So you’d get demotivated when you didn’t get something right and then the head chef would tell you off and it doesn’t go well. But with time you realize that, well, you’re cooking every day, and every service is like a blank sheet — basically a fresh start — and, as chefs, we’re only as good as the last dish we put out. 

What’s your top tip for amateur chefs? 

Whatever you’re cooking, just get good produce. It’s really as simple as that. If the produce is good, whatever you’re gonna do at home, whether it’s something simple or something sophisticated, 50 percent of the work is already done. 

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish and why? 

I would say salt, because salt is the major magnifier and it enhances everything. Apart from that, it would be something acidic, like lemon or lime. 

When you go out to eat, do you critique the food at all?  

It depends on the restaurant. If I’m going to somewhere that has a big reputation and we’re going there for the sake of trying it out — market research, like I said — then yes, I do end up critiquing it. But most of the time, on casual nights out or lunches and stuff, then no, I just try to enjoy it. 

What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants?  

The seasoning. 

What’s your favorite cuisine or dish to eat? 

Mediterranean food or something close to my background and palate profile. 

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home? 

Well, eggs are always in my fridge. They’re the easiest thing to do. And when they’re done right, they’re really unbeatable. 

What customer request most annoys you? 

When the guests try to change a dish completely. Because, honestly, we put a lot of work and effort in with the team to develop a dish, so for someone to come and just want to change it or flip it all over is a bit difficult for us. 

As a head chef, what are you like? Are you a disciplinarian, or are you more laid back? 

It’s a bit of both, so not really disciplinarian or laid back. The kitchens I was working in before were very disciplined — we were always shouting, throwing pots and pans and screaming and all that. So, I put it on myself not to be like that. But being completely laid back just doesn’t work in a kitchen. So it’s a bit of both. 

Chef Raffy’s mushroom garden recipe 

For the mushroom purée 

INGREDIENTS: 

100g porcini mushroom; 100g shitake mushroom; 60g salted butter; 2g thyme; 2g sage; 450ml mushroom stock; 50g crème fraiche; 1g black pepper; 3g Maldon salt 

INSTRUCTIONS:  

Chop all the mushrooms into equal parts. 

In a large saute pan add the chopped mushrooms into the foaming butter with the thyme and sage and sautee until soft. 

Add a ladle of mushroom stock and reduce. 

Finish with the crème fraiche and reduce again. 

Transfer to a blender and mix until smooth. 

For the pickled shimenji mushrooms 

INGREDIENTS: 

20g white shimenji mushroom; 100ml rice vinegar; 20g white sugar; 3g whole white pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

In a casserole add the rice vinegar, sugar and white pepper and bring to a boil. 

Clean the shimenji mushroom and poach in the pickling juice for about 3 mins. 

Transfer to a container for later use. 

FINISHING: 

In a deep plate, place the mushroom puree at the base. 

Top with the fried shitake mushrooms and carpaccio (raw, thinly sliced) of white button mushroom. 

Finish with the pickled shimenji, sage oil and dust the dry thyme powder on the white button mushroom.