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Saudi Arabia is Guest of Honor at Beijing International Book Fair 2024

The Kingdom's participation is overseen by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission
The Kingdom's participation is overseen by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission
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Saudi Arabia is Guest of Honor at Beijing International Book Fair 2024

The Kingdom's participation is overseen by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission
The Kingdom's participation is overseen by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission

Saudi Arabia is getting ready to inaugurate its pavilion at Beijing International Book Fair 2024 as the guest of honor for this year's edition, which will be held from June 19 to 23 in the Chinese capital.
The Kingdom's participation is overseen by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission and a number of cultural and national entities.

The Kingdom's pavilion includes participation from a variety of sectors, including the Heritage Commission, Culinary Arts Commission, Film Commission, Ministry of Investment, King Abdulaziz Foundation (Darah), King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, King Abdulaziz Public Library, King Fahd National Library, and Saudi Publishing Association.
This diversity aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of Saudi culture, including Saudi intellectual production and the promotion of investment opportunities in the Kingdom, particularly in the cultural sector. In addition, several seminars and dialogue sessions highlighting Saudi culture and its various connections to Chinese culture will be held.
The Saudi dinner, a special display of books, manuscripts, and artifacts, a live performance of traditional performing arts, a display of costumes and paintings, screenings of Saudi films, a corner for the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, and special corners for the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission's partners will be on the sidelines of the participation.

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Iran Artist's Vision For Culture Hub Enlivens Rustic District

Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
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Iran Artist's Vision For Culture Hub Enlivens Rustic District

Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP

In the winding alleys of southern Iran, artist Adel Yazdi has taken it upon himself to turn his rustic old neighbourhood into a cultural and tourist hub through vibrant paintings and carved relief faces.

Narenjestan, a neighbourhood characterized by crumbling, uninhabited houses, is nestled in Shiraz, a southern city celebrated for its historic architecture, lush gardens and revered poets.

"Most of the dilapidated walls in old Shiraz have no historical value," said Yazdi, a bushy-bearded, bespectacled 40-year-old artist who has dedicated himself to revitalising Narenjestan, AFP reported.

Yazdi has over the years turned the long-neglected neighbourhood walls into a vivid visual tapestry "telling the stories of the people living here," he said.

Arabesque patterns and relief faces carved with intricate details and painted in an array of vivid hues of greens, pinks, blues and purples now adorn the walls.

With its striking designs and bright colors, Yazdi's art can be reminiscent of Surrealism. It often comes across as surprising, showcasing a different side of Iran's artistic heritage that goes beyond the conventional focus on Persian or Islamic architecture.

The artwork includes the face of Scheherazade, Yazdi said, referencing the legendary storyteller from the "One Thousand and One Nights" collection of folktales.

Yazdi's work stands out in Shiraz where graffiti and murals are rare, becoming a social media sensation and a tourist attraction.

One visitor, Mahdieh, discovered Yazdi's murals through Instagram.

"I arrived in Shiraz yesterday... and it was the first site I wanted to visit," said the 40-year-old, who declined to give her last name.

At the end of one alleyway, Yazdi has established his workshop in a century-old building with small rooms encircling a serene garden.

He also lives in the building, with a traditional Persian architectural style.

It is filled with artefacts and sculptures, resembling a museum warehouse.

To Maedah, a 30-year-old engineer, Yazdi's house brings to mind "other historical places in the city, such as the Eram Garden and the Mausoleum of the Poet Hafez".

Yazdi said he drew inspiration from the Pompidou Center in Paris, a cultural hub that transformed the heart of the French capital in the 1970s.

He hopes his efforts can turn Shiraz's alleyways into even more of a vibrant cultural center as well.

At his residence, visitors are particularly drawn to what Yazdi calls "the Finger Room."

Inside, he installed around 14,000 finger sculptures on the ceiling, all pointing downward.

"The room is inspired by the legend of an angel that counts raindrops with thousands of fingers," he said, referring to an Islamic fable.

"These fingers are there to constantly remind us that the present moment is precious and that we must seize it."