美国国家公共电台 NPR--Saudi Arabia's art scene is exploding, but who benefits?

Saudi Arabia's art scene is exploding, but who benefits?

Transcript¹

The Saudi government is considered one of the most conservative and repressive in the world, with strict gender²-based laws and an expansive death penalty. But now, a country that once had a decades-long ban on movie theaters has morphed into a regional hub for arts and entertainment.

Later this month, it will host a Formula One Grand Prix race for the third year in a row. But there's also a massive rave³ in the desert outskirts⁴ of the capital Riyadh in December, an Andy Warhol exhibition currently underway in the oasis⁵ city AlUla and an international film festival whose third edition starts in November. Each year, the capital Riyadh is now punctuated⁶ with artworks for the world's largest festival of lights.

Critics say these shifts are purely⁷ transactional, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin⁸ Salman trading the appearance of an open culture to paper over a dismal⁹ human rights record and buy political capital from the country's young population, but arts practitioners¹¹ speak of real change on the ground.

Jeed Basyouni, who investigates the use of the death penalty across the Middle East and North Africa for rights group Reprieve¹², says the unprecedented¹³ level of changes comes at a price.

"Why we take particular issue with the use of art and sports and entertainment in this way is because it's very strategic on the behalf of Mohammed bin Salman," she told NPR's Leila Fadel.

"It's not out of the goodness of his heart that he's opening up Saudi society. There's a lot of money there for himself and the public... Saudi Arabia has a very young population who have been mostly very bored for the last 30 years because of how restricted society has been. If you distract them with these things, they won't notice that from the other hand, he's making society more repressive than it's ever been."

Reprieve published a report earlier this year with a Saudi partner, the European Saudi Organisation¹⁴ for Human Rights. They found an 82% jump in executions since King Salman and his son the crown prince came to power in 2015.

Basyouni pointed¹⁵ to child defendants¹⁶ or the case of scholar Hassan al-Maliki, who has been imprisoned¹⁷ since 2017 on charges such as owning unauthorized books, publishing tweets and being interviewed by Western outlets¹⁸. While he has not been sentenced, the public prosecutor¹⁹ has called for the death penalty.

"Mohammed bin Salman will decide what Saudi Arabia will look like and anyone that has any view will be punished," Basyouni added.

But despite these very real numbers, creatives from around the region are now flocking to Saudi Arabia as a place to showcase their work.

Award winner celebrate on stage during the finale of the Closing Night Gala Awards at the Red Sea International Film Festival on December 08, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Getty Images for The Red Sea Int

Lebanese filmmaker Dania Bdeir recently premiered her short film Warsha, which explores gender identity, at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

"There is a willingness to at least allow for some stories to be told, and maybe when it comes to completely talk about politics — that stuff, not quite yet, I don't know if that will ever happen — but at least starting with human self-expression and each one telling their own story. That's beginning."

Dubai-based cultural strategist and art consultant²⁰ Myrna Ayad has worked in Saudi Arabia for years. She is quick to point to the long history of art practice and appreciation²¹ in the kingdom, where late Jeddah mayor Mohammed Saeed Farsi installed more than 400 sculptures by Saudi, Arab and international artists across the city. And in 1968, Munira Mosli and Safeya Binzagr were the first Saudi women whose work was featured in an exhibition in the country.

Art, Ayad says, can break down barriers.

"I do fundamentally believe that you can change somebody's mind, you can influence their opinion, you can alter their thought if you do it through art and culture. I think that this is how we develop tolerance²², we develop understanding," she said.

Saudi artists find ways around censorship, such as Nasser Al-Salem, who uses mixed media to re-contextualize traditional Arabic calligraphy²³.

She rebukes²⁴ critics who focus on the political expediency²⁵ behind the crown prince's apparent cultural opening, asking the public instead to focus on what the art itself has to say.

"We are a determined²⁶ few, and we work very hard and we are committed to what we are doing. We believe in our countries and our region and our heritage, and we are proud of it," said Ayad, who is Lebanese and was born in Beirut. "If you are going to look at me based on my country's government, what's left? You have to you have to see me from another light. You have to see me for who I am: I'm an arts practitioner¹⁰ or I am a Saudi artist or I'm an Emirati artist or I'm a Lebanese artist. Come on."

These interviews were conducted by Leila Fadel, produced by Kaity Kline and edited by Olivia Hampton. To hear the broadcast version of this story, use the audio player at the top of this page.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

6 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

10 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

11 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

12 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

17 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

18 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

20 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

21 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

22 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

23 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

24 rebukes   

责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His industry rebukes me. 他的勤劳使我感到惭傀。
• The manager's rebukes in loud voice and stern expression have made the clerks gathered in the out office start with alarm. 老板声色俱厉的责备把聚集在办公室外的职员们吓坏了。

25 expediency   

n.适宜；方便；合算；利己

参考例句：

• The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句

26 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。