Ithraeyat Turns Five
Planting enriching stories: Ithraeyat turns five
Today
With this month’s “Nature” edition of Ithraeyat, the cultural magazine celebrates its fifth anniversary.
Community Champions
Ithra’s cultural magazine marks a half decade of highlights.
Ithraeyat
What is in a name? What does Ithraeyat even mean?
The name of the magazine is born out of Ithra, which is the other name for The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture. It also refers to "enriching," and so Ithra-e-yat, a play on the Arabic word of Ithra, is a plural of enrichment, and in this case, a collection of enriching stories.
In another interesting twist, the word “magazine” has its origins in the Arabic word makhzan, a storehouse. Ultimately, the Ithraeyat Magazine is a storehouse of unique, enriching stories.
Born in 2020 during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdowns, the magazine has grown to feature hundreds of artists, creatives, and cultural figures. It has promoted more than a 1,000 art pieces in different forms, including the first-ever debut of Canadian indigenous art, and also has become a station of cultural growth for many writers.
Through the pages, we have discovered unique and somewhat humorous facts, such as in the "Legends" edition about how concepts of beauty in past civilizations in Arabia have lasted to this day. Ancient rock art on mountainous areas in Saudi Arabia depict and admire the curvy full-bodied woman, or as they said then (and even today), the Murabraba woman.
Some of our milestones have included:
AI art on our cover
Ithraeyat debuted the first AI-generated art on its cover in 2022 for our "Identity" edition, before the conversation regarding the impact of AI became mainstream and one of the biggest changes in our lives.
Forgotten stories of legendary figures
We have had gems published in our magazine, such as "Architectural Sketch – Prime Minister's House" by Zaha Hadid from 1979, which was published in Ithraeyat’s “Sketches” edition.
This was Hadid's "first major project," and she didn’t give up even though it wasn’t chosen as part of a competition. This piece illustrates the "Queen of Cures" signature take on curves and flow in this simple-looking yet complex sketch.
A reservoir of artists that have left us
Debuting the late HRH Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsin’s paintings and an exclusive interview with him at his home.
“Art is everywhere … You can’t stop art; it will find its way to express itself.” In his last interview, legendary poet the late HRH Prince Badr Bin Abdulmohsin Al-Saud (April 1949-May 4, 2024) shared his artistic side with us in the edition dedicated to the "Desert" theme.
Ithraeyat also had the honor of an exclusive interview published in the "Nostalgia" edition with Safeya Binzagr, the "Mother of Saudi art," who also passed away in 2024 (1940-September 12, 2024).
"For a long time, Saudi women were working hard in many fields; today, the world can see it all, and women can harvest the results of their relentless work through the last century,” the late Safeya Binzagr told Ithraeyat’s editor in chief. She also shared her love of animals, such as cats, dogs, and birds, including her beloved parrots Honey and Spicy.
And so, as we bid farewell to one season and welcome nature’s gift of another, join us in our garden of stories, and explore all our editions of Ithraeyat here.
To see the latest edition, click here.
