Art, Urbanism Come Together in Jeddah

Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Art, Urbanism Come Together in Jeddah

Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Blending art with urbanism can change the face of cities. The Hayy Jameel arts hub in Jeddah has set this notion at the heart of its art commissioning program for its façade.

Hayy Jameel’s 17,000-square-meter white center remains a blank canvas awaiting the program’s winning artist to transform it into a piece of beauty.

At the end of this week, the program will reach its application deadline with plans to unveil the chosen work of art early next year 2023.

The annual art commissioning program provides an opportunity for local and foreign artists in the Kingdom to develop new works on a 25-meter-long panel placed on the façade of the building.

“Long-term goals of the program include giving an opportunity for the center’s spaces and façade to interact with the public and to become a destination for art and artists in Jeddah and the Kingdom as a whole,” Deputy Director of Art Jameel Sarah Al-Omran told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The program’s second edition is loaded with goals and ambitions to sponsor the largest possible number of artists. It also looks to provide guidance and direction for participating artists to produce a work that addresses the receiving community,” explained Al-Omran.

She clarified that this edition adopts an open invitation policy for selecting the work that will be featured on the center’s façade. In the first edition, a nomination mechanism was applied.

“This time, artists, curators, and elite art institutions from around the world will participate in the judging panel,” revealed Al-Omran.

When asked about the number of artists allowed to apply to the program, she said: “The invitation is open for every artist or artistic groups in Saudi Arabia aspiring to produce a distinctive artwork for the public.”

“The goal is for the place (Hayy Jameel) to become a destination for art and a destination for creativity groups in Jeddah,” said Al-Omran when asked about the possibility of transforming the center into a tourist destination.



Fans Bid Farewell to 4 Giant Pandas at Japan Zoo Before their Return to China

Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
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Fans Bid Farewell to 4 Giant Pandas at Japan Zoo Before their Return to China

Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Giant panda Saihin, one among the four pandas on loan to Japan which will soon be heading back to China sits inside an enclosure at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Thousands of fans bid a teary farewell Friday to a family of four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan’s coastal town of Shirahama as the animals made their last public appearance before their return to China.

Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals. Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites, The Associated Press reported.

Although the 24-year-old mother Rauhin and her three daughters — Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin — were all born and raised at the park, they remain on loan from China and must now be returned.

Once they return to China, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo will be the only pandas left in Japan.

More than 1,000 people, many wearing panda-themed attire, queued outside the entrance of the theme park hours before it opened while some camped outside the night before.

Some people wiped off tears while viewing throwback images of the pandas when they were cubs.

Yoshihiko Fukuzumi recalls the arrival of the first two pandas at the park 30 years ago and has watch their family grow. Since retiring three years ago, he and his wife have visited them nearly everyweek. “To us, they are like our grandchildren."

Giant pandas are native to southwestern China and serve as an unofficial national mascot. Beijing lends them to other countries as a sign of goodwill but maintains ownership over them and any cubs they produce.

Born in 2000, Rauhin had seven other cubs with Eimei, a male panda sent from China in 1994. Eimei returned home two years ago and has since died.

Despite strained political ties between Japan and China, giant pandas are hugely popular in Japan.

“We feel comforted just by looking at pandas,” said zoo director Koji Imazu.

Imazu said the departure of the four pandas marks the end of the zoo's 30-year joint project with China. He thanked Chinese specialists for sharing their expertise with the Japanese staff and said the zoo will be ready for a new arrival at any time.

“Of course we all miss them, but I hope you could send them off with a cheerful wave and wish them well in China,” Imazu said.

In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said giant pandas are “friendly ambassadors" conveying the goodwill of the Chinese people.

Guo said that China and Japan have collaborated on panda conservation and research since 2000, and that China is ready to further strengthen international cooperation, including with Japan.

Rauhin and her daughters will be flown to China on Saturday where they will join other pandas at a facility in Sichuan province near their original habitat. There, the three young ones will find partners.

“I still can't believe they're all leaving,” said Junko Ikeda, a Fuhin fan from neighboring Nara prefecture who spent Thursday night in her camper van for the send-off. "I hope she finds a partner, becomes a mother and lives a happy life.”