Saudi Culture Ministry Hosts Yemeni Orchestra in Riyadh

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Culture Ministry Hosts Yemeni Orchestra in Riyadh

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi Ministry of Culture is set to host on Sunday the Yemeni Orchestra at the King Fahad Cultural Centre in Riyadh, in collaboration with the Yemeni Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

The event will feature Yemeni musicians performing a wide array of music and songs showcasing Yemen’s cultural heritage, including traditional genres from Aden, Sanaa, and Hadramout. Saudi musicians will participate, performing collaborative pieces that celebrate the shared musical heritage between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

As part of the festivities, the Saudi Music Commission, one of 11 sector specific commissions under the Ministry of Culture, will host interactive exhibits allowing visitors to explore traditional Saudi music instruments and view archival audio-visual recordings from Saudi Arabia’s musical heritage. Additionally, the Saudi Trouq Meets the World initiative will feature musical performances blending traditional instruments from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The ALIPH Foundation, in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Culture, will present a photo exhibition documenting their work in preserving Yemen’s cultural and historical heritage sites, in collaboration with various Yemeni institutions and international organizations.

The upcoming event reflects the Ministry’s commitment to fostering cultural exchange and collaboration. It is also a testament to the strong ties between the Kingdom and Yemen, while supporting cultural preservation and furthering the fraternal ties between the two nations.



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.