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.



Two Bears Escape Wildlife Park Enclosure, Eat a 7-Day Supply of Honey, Then Fall Asleep

Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
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Two Bears Escape Wildlife Park Enclosure, Eat a 7-Day Supply of Honey, Then Fall Asleep

Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  
Rescued brown bear cubs, Lucy (left) and Mish (right) explore gifts stuffed with their favorite treats ahead of their move from the Wildwood Trust in Kent to their forever home at the Trust's sister site, Escot in Devon, on Wednesday April 7, 2021. Getty images  

Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at a UK wildlife park and devoured a week's worth of food store honey before falling asleep, the park said on Tuesday.

Mish and Lucy, both aged four, got out of their enclosure at Wildwood Devon in southwestern England on Monday afternoon, according to CBS News.

The pair made a beeline for their food store where they scoffed snacks, including the seven-day supply of honey, a park statement said.

The bears “posed no threat to the public at any point” although visitors on site were escorted to a secure building as a precaution.

During the hour-long drama, the bears were “continuously monitored both on the ground and via CCTV” until they were returned to their enclosure by keepers and promptly “fell asleep,” Wildwood added.

“Our experienced keeping team acted immediately, following established safety protocols, and successfully used recall training to encourage both bears back into their enclosure without the need for any intervention,” the park said.

Police were at the scene and an investigation was underway to determine how the animals managed to break out. The park said an “operational error” allowed the bears to escape, without elaborating.

“This was an isolated incident, and we are conducting a full internal investigation to understand exactly how it happened and to ensure robust measures are in place to prevent a reoccurrence," the park wrote on social media.

It added, “While the structural integrity of the bear enclosure remains uncompromised, we take any operational lapse extremely seriously.”

The park, which covers 40 acres of gardens and woodland, is home to an array of wildlife including brown bears, wolves and arctic foxes.

Mish and Lucy were taken in by Wildwood in 2021 after being abandoned by their mother in a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains.

Several attempts were made to reintroduce the cubs into the wild but it became clear to conservationists that they could not survive on their own.