THIS year at the Venice Biennale, the artist representing Saudi Arabia, Manal Al Dowayan, was asked by a journalist if she could show her art back home. ‘I explained it was commissioned by the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Of course I can show it!’ was the response. Her exasperation is not uncommon among Saudi artists. Over the past 20 years, the accelerated social change in the Arab kingdom has been so rapid that it is perhaps understandable that Western journalists are struggling to keep up.
Forty years ago, it would have been unusual to see any art in the Gulf country. Culture was strictly censored, limited to a few Modernist sculptures along a sand-blown corniche in the city of Jeddah and exhibitions endorsed by the religious ‘morality’ police. Many artists chose to live abroad rather than grapple with the Kafkaesque restrictions imposed on their practice. Today, the troublesome Mutawa are no more and the kingdom is set to become a global art powerhouse, with new museums, biennales, art fairs and sculpture parks in the planning.
Fuelling this drive is Vision 2030, a cultural and economic strategy conceived by the prime minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, often referred to as MBS. Among his key objectives is a desire to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and gas to one of tourism and creativity. MBS hopes that by 2030, 3% of the country’s total GDP will be generated by culture and, to this end, has invested some £48 billion in the Arts.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 23, 2024-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 23, 2024-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery