Latest news with #MuhannadShono
Saudi Gazette
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Saudi Gazette
Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 closes in Jeddah, cements role as global cultural platform
Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, titled And All That Is In Between, concluded on May 25, 2025, after a four-month run at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, affirming its position as a leading global platform for Islamic arts. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale brought together over 500 historical and contemporary works across five exhibition halls and expansive outdoor spaces spanning more than 100,000 square meters. With participation from 30 international institutions representing 21 countries, and featuring 29 new commissions, the event offered a rich exploration of Islamic culture through faith, time, and material heritage. One of the most notable highlights was the first-ever public display outside Makkah of the complete Kiswah, the cloth that covers the Holy Kaaba, shown alongside rare sacred artifacts from Makkah and Madinah. The contemporary section, curated by Muhannad Shono, included standout works such as the AlMusalla Prize–winning structure by EAST Architecture Studio, made from palm fiber and partially featured in Venice as part of the Rooted Transience Biennale's closing symposium was marked by the announcement of several forward-looking initiatives by Rakan Altouq, Vice Chairman of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and Assistant Minister of Culture. These include grants for joint research, a digitization platform to archive the exhibition's works, and international conferences aimed at expanding knowledge-sharing on Islamic Biennale also had a significant community and educational impact, with over 23,110 students visiting and more than 15,000 participants engaging in 446 public programs, including guided tours, symposia, and hands-on workshops. Notable cultural initiatives included Turuq, a culinary and cultural exploration of movement and trade, and MADE., a design forum connecting global creatives with Islamic Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, praised the collaborative spirit behind the Biennale's success. 'The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale has surpassed expectations in its scale and impact. We are proud to have welcomed a broad and diverse audience, from local schoolchildren to international scholars.'
Arab News
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Muhannad Shono: ‘This work is fragile. It is not here forever'
RIYADH: Saudi contemporary artist Muhannad Shono is the sole representative of the Middle East at this year's Desert X — the site-specific international art exhibition in California's Coachella Valley — which runs until May 11. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ Shono's piece, entitled 'What Remains,' consists of 60 long strips of locally-sourced synthetic fabric infused with native sand. 'The fabric strips, orientated to align with the prevailing winds, follow the contours of the ground, fibrillating just above its surface,' a description of the work on the Desert X website reads. 'As the wind direction shifts, the natural process of aeolian transportation that forms dunes is interrupted, causing the fabric to tangle and form chaotic bundles. In this way, the ground itself becomes mutable — a restlessly changing relic or memory.' This isn't the first time Shono has created a large-scale installation in the desert. At Desert X AlUla in 2020, he presented 'The Lost Path,' composed of 65,000 black plastic tubes snaking through the Saudi desert — a work exploring themes of transformation, memory and impermanence. And while 'What Remains' is an entirely separate piece of art, it also delves into those topics, as has much of Shono's work over the past decade. 'I'm first-generation Saudi,' Shono tells Arab News. 'A year after I was born, I was given the nationality. For half of my life, I didn't feel Saudi. I'd say Saudi was an authentic space that had specific motifs and cultural narratives that we were very disconnected from as a family. Why? Because we're immigrants; my father is not Saudi, and my mom is not Saudi. 'But now I think the narrative of what is 'Saudi' is changing,' he continues. 'And it feels like it's part of this correction.' A feeling of not belonging was apparent in Shono's early artistic endeavors. He loved comic books and wanted to create his own because he couldn't find a true representation of himself in them. 'Saudis expect you to produce a figure they can relate to — with Saudi features or skin color — but I didn't think they could relate to me,' he says. 'I was more referencing myself, and what I thought 'home' looked like, or the 'hero' looked like, so there was a disconnect there.' That disconnect continues to manifest in his work. 'You can see it in Desert X and in a lot of my other projects tapping into materiality. I realized I couldn't really fully connect with the materiality of the narrative of being Saudi. 'An interesting psychological thing that I haven't really come to grips with is that I'm more comfortable doing work in Saudi because I'm responding to this natural source material,' he continues. 'I'm disrupting — I'm offering divergence, narratives that can spill out from that experience of the work. I'm invested in the narrative of what's happening (in Saudi). I think it's the closest I've felt to being 'at home.' Something that I was missing in the beginning was being connected to the narrative of the place, because if you engage with that narrative, you can call it home. 'When I go to California, I miss the landscape (of Saudi) that I'm contrasting. In California, it's not juxtaposed against the experience of growing up. I'm still figuring out how to take these feelings and be able to show work overseas, because my backdrop is missing — the backdrop of Saudi.' His early interest in comic books, he says, was partly down to 'being able to create the world, the space, the setting for the story.' That was also a reason he decided to study architecture at university. 'I felt like it was creative problem solving,' he says. 'A lot of my projects that I did in college were in 'world making.' My graduation project ended up being the creation of a whole city, and how it would grow on a random landscape. I got kind of caught up in the urban planning of it — the streets, and the rivers flowing through it. I never really got to the architectural part of designing a building.' But that willingness to explore ideas in ways others might not has made Shono one of the Kingdom's most compelling contemporary artists. 'I've created my own kind of material palette, or language, or library, that I use,' he says. In his current work, 'The land is holding the narrative on this adventure within the seemingly barren landscape,' he explains. 'These land fabrics become this idea of being able to roll up, carry and unroll ideas of belonging: What is home? How do we carry home?' Shono and the team who helped him install 'What Remains' had to 'constantly adapt expectations' based on understanding the land and the environmental conditions, he says. It took them around a month, working seven or eight hours a day, to put it in place — flattening, aligning, and flipping fabric under Shono's direction. His vision was clear, but he also allowed instinct to guide him. 'This work is fragile,' he says. 'It's an expression that is not here forever… that will change. And my ideas will change, the way I think about stories and concepts through my work. It's important to change.' With 'What Remains,' he is offering that same opportunity to viewers. He wonders: 'What portals will you pass through, through this unrolling of the earth in front of you?' And change is a vital part of the work itself. 'They're always different,' Shono says of the fabric strips. 'At some points, they're opaque and earth-like — almost like a rock. But when the wind picks up, they become lightweight — like sails — and they animate and come to life. And when the light hits as they move through the sky, they reveal their translucency and there's this projection of the trees and bushes and nature that they're almost wrapped around or sailing past.' Although the 'What Remains' seen by Desert X visitors on any particular day will not be the same 'What Remains' seen by visitors on any other day, or even any other hour, one part of it, at least, is constant. 'The work is a self-portrait,' Shono says. 'Always.'
FACT
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- FACT
JAX Ramadan Market has arrived in Riyadh
Riyadh's JAX District is famous for its arts and culture. Now, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, it will host a Ramadan market. Running from 8.30pm to 2am from 6 to 15 March, it combines creativity and flair. So, if you're looking for something different to do this Ramadan, here's what you need to know. JAX Ramadan Market is part of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation's Layali Biennale. The event brings together a mix of cultural and culinary experiences. The family-friendly events include shopping stalls and food offerings, which showcase local cuisine and produce. Visitors can dig into hot and cold stations with traditional dishes, tapas food, smoothies, honey and cheese. Taking place in the heart of Riyadh's creative district, JAX Ramadan Market also provides visitors the chance to also explore local galleries and artist studios. Visitors can see the studios of some of Saudi Arabia's leading artists, from Ahmed Mater to Muhannad Shono. Ramadan is the holiest month in Islam, and marks when the Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Mohammed PBUH. Muslims across the world fast from sunrise to sunset. When meal times arrive, food takes on an extra significance and provides a time for reflection. The last ten days of the month coincide with Laylat Al Qadr. During Ramadan, there are also shorter working hours in Saudi Arabia. Eid al-Fitr is expected to fall on Sunday, 30 March or Monday, 31 March, depending on how many days Ramadan lasts. The exact date will also be confirmed closer to the date by the moon sighting committee. Eid al-Fitr is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia, and the dates have not yet been confirmed. Check in with FACT for the best things to do in Riyadh. GO: Follow @jaxdistrict on Instagram for more information.
FACT
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- FACT
Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations opens in Riyadh
Riyadh is filled with art exhibitions that celebrate homegrown and international artists. Now, Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations will open at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art. Located in the JAX District, it will run from 24 February to 24 April 2025. Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations made its debut in Brazil, and is now coming to Saudi Arabia. The exhibition was first on show in Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, and drew 26,000 visitors. Following its run in Riyadh, it will make its way to the National Museum in China, marking the 25th anniversary of Saudi Arabia and China's diplomatic relations. The exhibition showcases Saudi Arabian artists, and brings together 17 names with different perspectives. The established artists include Muhannad Shono, Lina Gazzaz and Manal AlDowayan. The emerging artists include Ahaad Alamoudi and Fatma Abdulhadi. Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations puts Saudi Arabia firmly in the spotlight, and explores the Kingdom's rich history and traditions. The themes include the tension between the past and present. The works span a range of mediums including installations, paintings and videos. Plus, the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art will introduce new site-specific work, and pieces from the Ministry of Culture's collection. If you're looking for more art in Riyadh, check out the Tuwaiq Sculpture Festival. Running from 12 to 24 February, this year's theme is From Then to Now: Joy in the Struggle of Making . The exhibition brings together local as well as international sculpture artists. Check in with FACT for the best things to do in Riyadh. GO: Follow @samocamoc on Instagram for more information.
Arab News
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Contemporary art at the Islamic Arts Biennale
JEDDAH: 'The role of contemporary (art) is to act as a link between the past, our present and this imagining of our future,' says Muhannad Shono, contemporary art curator at the second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, which opened in January and runs through May. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ Shono's section of the biennale features 30 new commissions from local and international artists 'giving shape to the theme,' which this year is 'And All That is in Between' — drawn from a Qur'anic verse: 'To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between' — guiding artists and audiences to reflect on the spaces that exist between known boundaries, whether physical, spiritual, or conceptual. Set across multiple indoor galleries and integrated into outdoor spaces, the contemporary works are woven seamlessly into the Biennale's landscape alongside ancient artifacts. One striking example is in the AlMidhallah section, where Japanese artist Takashi Kuribayashi's installation, 'Barrels,' features a formation of oil barrels from which a tree emerges, with reflective mirrors blurring the line between man-made and natural elements. Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi's 'Zubaydah Trail (Between Sacred Cities),' meanwhile, is an immersive space where visitors are invited to kick off their shoes and sit and reflect between the Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah Al-Munawwarah biennale pavilions. Deeply saturated, vibrant strips of color make the space feel both playful and serious at once. Each color and shape carries symbolic meaning — the zig-zag pattern represents the streaming water of Makkah's Zamzam well, while the green hue evokes the peacefulness of Madinah. There are many other beautiful works, such as Saudi artist Bilal Allaf's 'What I Heard in the Valley,' which draws inspiration from Sa'i, the ritual walk performed by pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah. 'The overall theme of the biennale is interpreted across five galleries and, of course, across the contemporary interpretations as well,' says the biennale's artistic director Abdul Rahman Azzam. Contemporary art here serves as a bridge, as Shono suggested, linking the past, present, and possible futures. AlBidaya, which translates to 'the beginning,' is one of the galleries where this concept comes to life, exploring the emotional connections between objects and ideas. 'In the beginning, we were kind of focusing on the heavens and the earth. But then we realized that the true power and potential of this biennale is 'all that is in between,'' Shono tells Arab News. 'This idea of the inclusive, the expansive, the layered, the transformative space that is liminal, that is not interested in its edges, it's not focused on the binary of options of right and wrong and light and dark and good and evil. It is more interested in that new space that we are exploring.' Shono was a featured artist at the first Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023. His role this time is very different, but it's an opportunity he embraced wholeheartedly. 'I responded yes immediately and I threw myself into the work,' he says. 'It was a shift in priorities, it was a shift in what I thought my year was going to look like, and it was completely kind of throwing yourself into the process, into motion. 'The most surprising part about preparing was how natural it felt. (I wanted to make sure) that I went through this with a smile, and because I experienced the last edition, I knew what it was going to end up feeling like. So it wasn't an attempt to top anything or compete with anything but more to do it honestly and naturally, as I would do my own work.' What was especially important to him as a curator was working with younger Saudi artists and emerging voices. 'The word 'change' is used a lot here in Saudi and the Biennale really embodies that, bringing in the past — which was very rigid… did not want to be negotiated with, did not want to change its narrative or the parameters of its definitions and space — and bringing contemporary thoughts embodied in contemporary art practices, whose roles are to question, think laterally, reimagine, reinterpret,' he says. 'It's a big testimony to what the country's going through. And so when I was invited, I really wanted to do it — this speaks to my work and I wanted to extend that into the role of curation.' Many of the featured artists were present at the opening, engaging with visitors. '(Art) is not just about showing things; it's about experiencing things, exchanging things. It responds to your presence. It reacts to you,' says Shono. He is grateful to see so many visitors eager to engage with Saudi Arabia's art scene. The experience, he believes, speaks for itself. 'Every visit, every person who takes that leap of faith — beyond the stereotypes — is enacting change, is experiencing something that can't be reversed because you're really coming in contact with the truth, with people, their lives, their generosity, their authenticity,' he says. While he is curating the spaces, he does not want to curate the impressions. 'I think most of the people are coming here and seeing for themselves what is going on in this country,' he says. 'I grew up here in Saudi, so to see a country go through this very rooted experiment of social change… it's important for it to succeed not only for the sake of this country, but for the entire region.'
