عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Culture

Ithra Showcases Art Collection for the First Time at Art Week Riyadh

Ithra showcases art collection for the first time at Art Week Riyadh. (SPA)
Ithra showcases art collection for the first time at Art Week Riyadh. (SPA)
TT
TT

Ithra Showcases Art Collection for the First Time at Art Week Riyadh

Ithra showcases art collection for the first time at Art Week Riyadh. (SPA)
Ithra showcases art collection for the first time at Art Week Riyadh. (SPA)

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) announced in a press release Monday its participation as an Exhibition Partner at the inaugural edition of Art Week Riyadh.

This initiative of the Ministry of Culture’s Visual Arts Commission is being held from April 6 –13, 2025, across key cultural sites in Riyadh, including JAX District and Al Mousa Center, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The event celebrates the nation’s dynamic art scene, bringing together leading local and international galleries, cultural institutions, artists, patrons, collectors, and arts enthusiasts, under the theme "At The Edge".

The release stated that during Art Week Riyadh, Ithra is presenting a curated selection of 15 significant works from its museum collection, titled "Landscape and Memory," as part of the event’s invited collections exhibition, under the title of "Collections in Dialogue”.

Spanning from the early 1900s to 2022, the display showcases a rich variety of artistic practices and cultural expressions. Featuring both regional and international artists, it includes sculptures, paintings, and installations, providing a captivating overview of Ithra’s prized art collection.

Moreover, the exhibition explores the interplay between material memory, transformation, and the landscapes that shape identity, questioning how history is preserved, reinterpreted, and reimagined through art. The exhibition portrays memory not only as a mark on the world but as a dynamic force that links us to the past while opening new possibilities for the future.

Featured artists and their works include the Saudi Arabian artist and film director Mohammed Alfaraj’s Fossils of Knowledge (2022), Maha Malluh’s Oil Candies (KSA - 2019), and three works by American artist Gregory Mahoney: Sea Land (1991), Five Gallons/Five Oceans (1995), and End of the World (1993).

Also on display are South Korean artist Do Ho Suh’s Screens (2005); three photographs by Saudi photographer Moath Aloufi, The Scene (2019), I Am the One (2019), and The Family (2019); as well as Italian master Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Persone in Comunicazione (2019); Lebanese calligraphy artist Joumana Medlej’s Who Am I? (2015); and Saudi eclectic artist Sultan bin Fahad’s Sultan Bin Fahad 1440 AH (2016). Additionally, Palestinian sculptor Abdul Rahman Katanani’s Tornado (2020); Palestinian artist Hazem Harb’s The Place is Mine, Series #3 (2019); and Egyptian painter and sculptor Moataz Nasr’s Burning (2019) are also part of the exhibition.

The release emphasized that the exhibition provides a glimpse into Ithra’s diverse collection, highlighting its variety and celebrating the vibrancy of contemporary art.

Head of Museum at Ithra Farah Abushullaih said, "Ithra’s participation in Art Week Riyadh is an opportunity to celebrate creative expression and embrace diverse artistic and cultural perspectives. It is an opportunity to share a glimpse of the Ithra Museum and its rich collection of works."

Most Viewed

 
 
Culture

AlUla Named World’s Cultural Tourism Project 2025

AlUla named world’s cultural tourism project 2025. SPA
AlUla named world’s cultural tourism project 2025. SPA
TT
TT

AlUla Named World’s Cultural Tourism Project 2025

AlUla named world’s cultural tourism project 2025. SPA
AlUla named world’s cultural tourism project 2025. SPA

AlUla’s status as a global hub for culture, heritage, exploration, and discovery has been further strengthened following its designation as the World’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025 at this year’s World Travel Awards.

AlUla secured the most prestigious honor at the annual awards, regarded as the industry’s highest accolade, after receiving the highest number of votes from international experts, senior executives, specialist travel buyers, leading tour operators, and reputable travel agents, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

Established in 1993, the World Travel Awards celebrate excellence across the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries and are recognized globally as the pinnacle of achievement.

The awards feature numerous highly contested categories, ranging from best hotel, airline, travel experience, and more.

AlUla’s latest accolade comes after the ancient city was named as the Middle East's Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025, Middle East's Leading Festival and Event Destination 2025, and Saudi Arabia's Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025 at the recent regional edition of the World Travel Awards.

A place where desert landscapes meet ancient heritage, AlUla is home to some of the region's and the world’s most significant cultural landmarks, including Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, which features a collection of remarkably preserved Nabataean tombs.

With a rich story spanning 200,000 years of human history and 7,000 years of continuous civilization, AlUla's past comes to life through the Royal Commission for AlUla's calendar of immersive experiences.

Culture

Red Sea International Film Festival Held Amid Wide Participation from Film Stars, Creators

The festival runs until December 13 with the wide participation of local and international film stars and creators
The festival runs until December 13 with the wide participation of local and international film stars and creators
TT
TT

Red Sea International Film Festival Held Amid Wide Participation from Film Stars, Creators

The festival runs until December 13 with the wide participation of local and international film stars and creators
The festival runs until December 13 with the wide participation of local and international film stars and creators

The fifth annual Red Sea International Film Festival is being held under the patronage of Minister of Culture Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan at Culture Square in Historic Jeddah under the theme "In Love with Cinema.”

It runs until December 13 with the wide participation of local and international film stars and creators.

In his opening speech, the minister welcomed the festival's guests, saying "Here in the beautiful city of Jeddah - alive with creativity, culture, and the arts - I am pleased to welcome those who have joined us in previous successful editions, as well as those attending for the first time to experience an event that reflects the energy of our youth and the richness of our culture.”

With the generous support of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the minister noted that the cultural sector has witnessed an unprecedented renaissance, positioning culture as a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia's future.

The minister pointed out that over the past seven years, the Ministry of Culture has worked to preserve the Kingdom's diverse heritage and build a thriving cultural landscape encompassing the arts, language, music, handicrafts, and the film sector, affirming that cinema is one of the most powerful tools of cultural influence globally and plays a pivotal role in strengthening understanding among peoples.

He added that the Red Sea Film Foundation embodies the Kingdom's vision of empowering youth, supporting creatives, and reinforcing Saudi Arabia's presence as a promising cinematic destination.

The festival opened with the film "Giant" in its Middle East and North Africa premiere.

Red Sea Film Foundation Chief Executive Officer Faisal Baltyuor explained that the choice of opening film reflects the festival's vision of supporting voices and stories from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, and bringing them to global audiences.

Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees for Red Sea Film Foundation Jomana Alrashid stated that the foundation has, over five years, helped build an effective ecosystem that enables filmmakers from Arab, Asian, and African countries to lead their projects.

She noted that seven films supported by the "Red Sea Fund" were nominated for the Oscars, and that this year's edition features 111 films from more than 70 countries, highlighting 38 female directors.

This year, the festival offers a diverse cinematic program featuring selected global screenings and Arab works shown for the first time, in addition to an official competition that attracts films from five continents, and a series of panel discussions and talent-support programs designed to empower new voices and strengthen Arab presence in the international cinematic landscape.

Culture

‘Amazing’ Figurines Find in Egyptian Tomb Solves Mystery

This undated handout photograph released on November 25, 2025 by MFFT-EPHE/PSL shows funerary statuette, knonw as ouchbetis, found in the royal necropolis of Tanis (San el-Hagar). (Simone Nannucci / MFFT - EPHE/PSL / AFP)
This undated handout photograph released on November 25, 2025 by MFFT-EPHE/PSL shows funerary statuette, knonw as ouchbetis, found in the royal necropolis of Tanis (San el-Hagar). (Simone Nannucci / MFFT - EPHE/PSL / AFP)
TT
TT

‘Amazing’ Figurines Find in Egyptian Tomb Solves Mystery

This undated handout photograph released on November 25, 2025 by MFFT-EPHE/PSL shows funerary statuette, knonw as ouchbetis, found in the royal necropolis of Tanis (San el-Hagar). (Simone Nannucci / MFFT - EPHE/PSL / AFP)
This undated handout photograph released on November 25, 2025 by MFFT-EPHE/PSL shows funerary statuette, knonw as ouchbetis, found in the royal necropolis of Tanis (San el-Hagar). (Simone Nannucci / MFFT - EPHE/PSL / AFP)

A treasure trove of 225 funerary figurines have been discovered inside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Tanis in the Nile Delta, a rare find that has also solved a long-running mystery.

"Finding figurines in place inside a royal tomb has not happened in the Tanis necropolis since 1946," French Egyptologist Frederic Payraudeau told reporters in Paris on Friday.

Such a find has also never happened before further south in Egypt's Valley of the Kings near modern Luxor -- apart from the tomb of the famous boy king Tutankhamun in 1922 -- because most such sites have been looted throughout history, he added.

Payraudeau, who leads the French Tanis excavation mission, said the remarkable discovery was made on the morning of October 9.

The team had already excavated the other three corners of a narrow tomb occupied by an imposing, unnamed sarcophagus.

"When we saw three or four figurines together, we knew right away it was going to be amazing," Payraudeau said.

"I ran out to tell my colleagues and the officials. After that it was a real struggle. It was the day before the weekend -- normally, we stop at 2 pm. We thought: 'This is not possible.'"

The team then set up lights to work through the night.

It took 10 days to carefully extract all of the 225 small green figurines.

They were "carefully arranged in a star shape around the sides of a trapezoidal pit and in horizontal rows at the bottom," Payraudeau said.

The funerary figurines, which are known as ushabti, were intended as servants to accompany the dead into the afterlife.

More than half the figurines are women, which is "quite exceptional", Payraudeau said.

Located in the Nile Delta, Tanis was founded around 1050 BC as the capital of the Egyptian kingdom during the 21st dynasty.

At the time, the Valley of the Kings -- which had been looted during the reign of pharaohs including Ramses -- was abandoned and the royal necropolis was moved to Tanis, Payraudeau said.

- One mystery leads to another -

The royal symbol on the newly discovered figurines also solves a long-standing mystery by identifying who was buried in the sarcophagus.

It was Pharaoh Shoshenq III, who reigned from 830 to 791 BC.

This was "astonishing" because the walls of a different tomb at the site -- and the largest sarcophagus there -- bear his name, Payraudeau said.

"Why isn't he buried in this tomb?" the expert asked.

"Obviously, for a pharaoh, building a tomb is a gamble because you can never be sure your successor will bury you there," he said.

"Clearly, we have new proof that these gambles are not always successful," Payraudeau said with a smile.

Shoshenq III's four-decade reign was turbulent, marred by a "very bloody civil war between upper and lower Egypt, with several pharaohs fighting for power," he said.

So it is possible that the royal succession did not go as planned and the pharaoh was not buried in his chosen tomb.

Another possibility is that his remains were moved later due to looting.

But it is "difficult to imagine that a 3.5 by 1.5-meter granite sarcophagus could have been reinstalled in such a small place," Payraudeau said.

After the figurines are studied, they will be displayed in an Egyptian museum, Payraudeau said.