ROSHN and KFCRIS Launch Saudi Women’s Book, Glossary

ROSHN and KFCRIS Launch Saudi Women’s Book, Glossary
TT

ROSHN and KFCRIS Launch Saudi Women’s Book, Glossary

ROSHN and KFCRIS Launch Saudi Women’s Book, Glossary

ROSHN Group, the PIF-owned giga-project and Saudi Arabia’s most trusted real estate developer has signed an agreement with King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) to further express appreciation for and preserve Saudi women’s unique identity by releasing the first Saudi Women’s Book and Glossary, as part of the Saudi Women Project.

Attending the signing ceremony at KFCRIS were Princess Haifa AlFaisal, member of the Board of Trustees of the King Faisal Foundation, KFCRIS Secretary General, Princess Maha AlFaisal, ROSHN Group Chief Marketing and Communication Officer Ghada Alrumayan, KFCRIS Assistant Secretary-General Ibrahim Aldeghaither, and Director of the Saudi Women’s Project and scientific supervisor of the book and glossary that is be being developed by the center Dr. Dalal AlHarbi

Saudi Women’s Book and Glossary is a comprehensive study of the role of Saudi women in the formation of the Kingdom’s national identity and the preservation of its customs and traditions, said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

The book is backed by extensive research into the national and regional customs that women have passed on for generations, from rituals around births and weddings to caring for family and interacting with society. It carefully documents Saudi women’s contributions to education, attire, and occupations.

The book is supplemented by a glossary of the vocabulary related to women in Saudi heritage in all the regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Women Project is a pioneering cultural research undertaking, which seeks to present all aspects of Saudi women’s lived reality from the Kingdom’s unification in 1932.

The Saudi Women’s Book and Glossary presents the women’s role in the social, economic, and cultural developments in Saudi society, with focus on their customs and traditions. It is an unprecedented effort to preserve this unique Saudi story for generations to come.

“This project comes at a decisive moment in the history of Saudi women, with our contributions to the Kingdom’s advancement at a high tide, with Vision 2030 on the horizon. As we survey our accomplishments as a nation, it fills me with immense pride to see women excel across different sectors, as doctors and engineers, in the arts and sports, or raising the next generation of Saudi pioneers,” said ROSHN Group's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Ghada AlRumayan.

“At ROSHN, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to empowering women with the skills and support to thrive in our dynamic, growing economy,” she added.

KFCRIS was established by the King Faisal Foundation in 1983 to maintain the late King’s mission of exchanging knowledge between the Kingdom and the world. KFCRIS brings together local and international researchers and organizations to produce sociological research and engage in intercultural dialogue.

It also houses Al-Faisal Cultural House, its publishing arm, the King Faisal Centre Library, the Faisal Family Archives, and Al-Faisal Museum for Arab-Islamic Art, which houses valuable collections of Islamic art, rare manuscripts, and pieces related to the late King Faisal.

ROSHN’s partnership with KFCRIS is part of the group’s wider strategy to improve the quality of life across the Kingdom by leveraging its reach and resources to create tangible impacts.

This agreement, in particular, aligns with the group’s core values, opportunity and empowerment, and is one other initiative that helps empower Saudi women and uphold Saudi culture.

Such endeavors include ROSHN’s pioneering RETURN program, which enables women to re-enter the workforce through dedicated training programs, as well as the group’s partnership with Nusf, The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment, and participation in its recent Walk the Talk mentorship initiative which offers Saudi women a unique opportunity to network and learn from accomplished women professionals.



Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)

A painting by Rene Magritte shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, selling for more than $121 million at Christie's in New York.

The seminal 1954 painting had been valued at $95 million, and the previous record for a work by Magritte (1898-1967) was $79 million, set in 2022.

After a nearly 10-minute bidding war on Tuesday, "Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumieres") was sold for $121,160,000, "achieving a world-record price for the artist and for a surrealist work of art at auction", according to auction house Christie's.

The painting -- depicting a house at night, illuminated by a lamp post, while under a bright, blue sky -- is one of a series by the Belgian artist showing the interplay of shadow and light.

"Empire of Light" was part of the private collection of Mica Ertegun, an interior designer who fled communist Romania to settle in the United States where she became an influential figure in the arts world.

She died in late 2023 and was married to the late Ahmet Ertegun, the music magnate who founded the Atlantic Records label.

The sale of the Magritte painting was an expected highlight of this week's autumn sales season in New York, at a time when the art market has seen a slowdown since last year.

Christie's -- which is controlled by Artemis, the investment holding company owned by the Pinault family -- said sales totaled $2.1 billion in the first half of this year.

That is down for the second straight year, after a peak of $4.1 billion in 2022 as the world emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.

During the same Christie's auction on Tuesday, a celebrated 1964 painting of a gas station by 86-year-old Ed Ruscha, titled "Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half," sold for $68.26 million, setting a new auction record for the American pop artist.