Model Imaan Hammam walks for Ralph Lauren in New York 

RIYADH: At the sixth Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium — a Riyadh Art initiative to beautify the city with public artworks — visitors have flocked to Roshn Front to check out the latest creations by 30 international and local artists.

This year’s theme, “From Then to Now: Joy in the Struggle of Making,” has pushed artists to widen the idea of what a completed artwork really is, and encouraged them to consider ways in which the process of creation could be more engaging to a public audience.

During the opening of the symposium last month, at which 30 artists began their sculpting journey on raw stone, co-curator Sebastian Betancur-Montoya told Arab News: “Art tends to be this idea of the artist as a sort of genius and the ideas are kind of obscure. It’s not clear where things come from, or how things are made.

“I thought it was very interesting to create a space — this event — where the interest was not in the final product, but the whole creative, physical, and intellectual process behind those pieces.”

Saudi artist Rawan Al-Shehri’s piece, titled “Spontaneity,” is composed of three large, curved pieces crafted with two different stones. The piece is designed to promote playfulness and invite public interaction.

She told Arab News: “My work focuses on how artists can sometimes believe they must produce the perfect art piece, but I think the focus should be the process of building an art piece — the joy in it and being more natural, or in our element, during our work.

“We could be faced with challenges or hurdles that change or enhance, even, the work itself and make it unique.”

Rather than keeping the viewer at bay, she hopes that the work will pull them in, adding: “They can sit on parts of it, slide on a corner, or even climb on a piece.”

Saudi artist Ali Al-Tokhais’ sculpture “Care and Interest in the Content” draws inspiration from the positive and cohesive relationship between the leadership of the Kingdom and society.

The 3-meter sculpted piece of granite resembles a spiral, with 13 lines marking its center to symbolize the number of regions in the Kingdom — each rich in cultural, economic, and social diversity.

He told Arab News: “This sculpture embodies the spirit of Saudi Arabia in all its regions, with a forward-looking vision led by Vision 2030, which has focused on the development of both people and place, with the homeland becoming a safe haven for the diversity and multiplicity that distinguish the Kingdom’s regions within a unified national framework.”

Al-Tokhais’ art journey began with creating wood figures using carpentry and blacksmithing techniques. From there, the passion evolved, leading him into the world of stone sculpting in which he said he found “a means of expressing ideas and emotions” in the material.

He added: “I began to explore new dimensions of art that reflected both cultural and human identity.”

The exhibition is an invitation to explore the cultural and creative world embodied in each sculpture.

Al-Tokhais said: “It is a gathering where we share moments of beauty and deep reflection, further enhancing Riyadh’s position as a global destination for arts and creativity.”

He emphasized the importance of local and international art forums in enriching the art scene and enhancing the exchange of experiences among sculptors worldwide, adding: “Art forums have always provided exceptional opportunities for growth and development, as they allow artists to explore new methods and expand their creative horizons.

“Through my various contributions, both in Saudi Arabia and internationally, I have been able to develop my artistic vision and refine my techniques, which are reflected in my works and my unique style in sculpture.”

The exhibition mirrors the public engagement program of the live sculpting phase, which featured panel discussions, workshops, masterclasses, and guided tours — prompting visitors to further engage with the artists’ creative processes and the significance of contemporary sculpture until the event’s conclusion on Feb. 24.

Co-curator Dr. Manal Al-Harbi said at the opening: “The forum is not limited only to displaying sculptures, but rather provides a rich interactive experience through community activities that give the public the opportunity to learn about sculpting techniques, speak with artists, and participate in the creative process, which enhances interaction with the arts and makes them part of daily life.”

JEDDAH:  Currently situated under the expansive canopies outside Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal is “On Weaving,” the winning design of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize — an international award for the design of a musalla, a place for prayer and contemplation that is open to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  

The winners of the inaugural edition of the award — which is part of the Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale — are a collective including Dubai and Beirut-based EAST Architecture Studio, structural engineer Christopher Blust from AKT II, and Beirut- and San Francisco-based artist Rayyane Tabet. They designed a modular structure inspired by regional weaving traditions and constructed from sustainable local materials such as date palm waste and palm fronds and fibers. The space was immediately popular with visitors during the opening days of the biennale, with many heading inside to one of the smaller rooms to pray.  

A summary of “On Weaving” on the biennale website states: “The double-sided pedestal is staggering in its ascent and thinning out as it reaches towards the sky. Its form resembles a loom, paying homage to tangible and intangible cultural heritage of weaving traditions and craftsmanship. It is autonomous, but also modular to suggest multiple uses — acting as structure, function, and ornament. The earthy colors that make up the musalla’s exterior are energized with color within the structure’s interior, where natural dyes made from local and regional plants are used to create bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. The musalla’s open courtyard invites visitors to sit, gather or pray, individually or communally.”  

“The brief for the competition called for a collaborative team that brings together an architect, an artist, and a structural engineer and fabrication expert,” Nicolas Fayad, co-founder of EAST Architecture Studio, told Arab News. “From the very first moment, we worked together conceptually and philosophically on what it means to build a musalla today — knowing that musallas, unlike mosques, are largely nomadic in nature; they were built by Bedouins in the desert (and could be) moved from one place to another.” 

So Fayad and his collaborators set out to create a structure that could easily be assembled, disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere (indeed, after the biennale ends on May 25, it will be moved to another location). It features an open central courtyard and prayer spaces and somewhat resembles a loom, addressing ideas of togetherness and proximity — core tenets of prayer in Islam. The façades were created by weaving together palm fronds and fibers, and the gaps let in natural light, as well as allowing the musalla to be incorporated into its surroundings. 

“Our musalla looks at the legacy of cultural typologies in spaces of worship, coupled with weaving as a craft,” Fayad explained. “(It also serves) as a structural performance that uses local material — most importantly, waste that comes from a natural material. We have identified throughout our research that there’s a lot of waste that comes from palm trees in Saudi Arabia.” 

The modular structure used engineered, glue-laminated palm-wood composite, which is the product of the waste of 150 palm trees — proof of the ability to use local, sustainable materials to create lasting architectural structures. 

What is so striking about the structure is not just the materials used to make it and the way in which it was created, but the literal and metaphorical tribute the structure pays to weaving.  

“On Weaving,” Fayad explained, is a metaphor for creativity and a reference to a material culture long dominant in the region,” adding that the design of the space readapts the narrative of woven textile as both an art and a functional design element. 

Weaving is itself a meditative ritual, of course, so here it serves as both an important part of the design process while also reflecting spirituality and the cultural heritage of the Kingdom and the wider Gulf region. 

“(We are presenting) the idea of weaving not only as a craft or as a way of making, but also as a way of holding art, architecture and engineering together as part of a continuous tradition,” said Fayad.