What We Are Reading Today: The Reasons of Love by Harry Frankfurt
Updated 28 June 2019
Arab News
In The Reasons of Love, leading moral philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt argues that the key to a fulfilled life is to pursue wholeheartedly what one cares about, that love is the most authoritative form of caring, and that the purest form of love is, in a complicated way, self-love.
Through caring, we infuse the world with meaning. Caring provides us with stable ambitions and concerns; it shapes the framework of aims and interests within which we lead our lives. Frankfurt goes on to explain that the most important form of caring is love, a nonvoluntary, disinterested concern for the flourishing of what is loved, says a review on the Princeton University Press website.
And he contends that the purest form of love is self-love. This sounds perverse, but self-love—as distinct from self-indulgence—is at heart a disinterested concern for whatever it is that the person loves. The most elementary form of self-love is nothing more than the desire of a person to love. Insofar as this is true, self-love is simply a commitment to finding meaning in our lives.
Marrakech museum reopens with homage to African art
Morocco’s largest private art museum returning to educational ‘core,’ says co-founder Othman Lazraq
Updated 19 February 2025
Rebecca Anne Proctor
DUBAI: The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al-Maaden, which reopened last week, is returning to its “core” of showcasing the continent’s artists, in addition to breathing a “new and different life” into it, says co-founder Othman Lazraq.
MACAAL was inaugurated in 2018 as the first museum of contemporary art in Marrakech, by founders Othman and his father Alami.
MACAAL (artwork: Fatiha Zemmouri, La pesanteur et la grâce, 2019) By Omar Tajmouati.
It houses the extensive collection of the Lazraq family, one of the most comprehensive private holdings of modern and contemporary African art on the continent.
Originally designed by French architect Didier Lefort, it had been closed since the spring of 2023. The closure took place just a few months before the night of Sept. 8, 2023, when a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck south of Marrakech.
This was the strongest earthquake to hit the country in over a century, severely damaging dozens of buildings in the city — many of which are still being reconstructed.
The revamped museum celebrated its reopening with the new permanent exhibition “Seven Contours, One Collection,” featuring over 150 rotating works from most of Africa’s 54 nations.
The aim is to showcase the breadth and diversity of art from the continent, while breaking down reductive stereotypes and fostering inclusivity.
“We realized we needed a big shift, and that big shift was getting back to the core of what the museum means to us which is more educational,” Lazraq, a practicing architect and associate of Lazraq Studio, told Arab News.
“African art is part of the identity of the collection, and we wanted to share it more broadly.”
The museum will now offer a semi-permanent exhibition format, hosting 150 on rotation from the 2,500-piece collection.
The show marking the reopening presents a poignantly curated presentation of works in a variety of mediums, including photography, painting, textiles, video art, sculpture and installations.
Notable pieces include works by the late Moroccan painter Mohamed Melehi, Moroccan modernist Farid Belkahia, Malian photographer Malick Sidibe, Congolese artist Pierre Bodo, Sudanese painter Salah Elmur, and the late French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui.
For the redesign of the museum, MACAAL entrusted scenographer Franck Houndegla to create a new media library and a permanent space to allow for an expansive collection of African art from the Lazraq family collection. The museum has also launched a new program of site-specific sculpture commissions.
“I want to bring a new and different life to the museum,” said Lazraq, noting how he hopes to bring in music, performance and design to the temporary spaces.
“The mission of (the museum) has always been to democratize access to art to a wider audience.
“Its most important mission is to inspire a generation of artists to feel safe and welcome — where they know there is a museum where their works can be exhibited and collected.”
DUBAI: Model Mona Tougaard showed off the new Versace collection this week as she starred in the luxury fashion house’s latest campaign.
Tougaard, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, was seen on video reclining on a deep orange sofa, her hair styled in a sleek, straight look with blunt bangs.
She wore a two-piece ensemble combining various textures and patterns.
A lilac-toned sequined crop top featured delicate yellow floral embroidery, thin straps and a plunging neckline. The skirt, in rich brown satin, had an intricate overlay of cream floral lace.
Accessories include oversized engraved gold rings with motifs such as the Versace Medusa emblem and baroque-inspired designs. Others had sculpted leaves and swirling patterns.
Also highlighted was a bold red handbag with intricate silver embroidery and a gold medallion clasp, with the Versace logo prominently displayed.
Tougaard wore a rich navy look, featuring a shaggy-textured coat draped over matching velvet pants. (Supplied)
Tougaard’s footwear included a pair of sparkling crystal-embellished heels in a soft mint green shade, with a delicate ankle strap featuring a silver buckle and a sharply pointed toe.
Tougaard started her modeling career in 2017 after winning the Elite Model Look Denmark competition at the age of 15. Since then, she has become a well-known figure in the fashion industry, working with top designers and luxury brands including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel and Valentino.
The catwalk star has had a whirlwind month, gracing the runway during New York Fashion Week in the Tory Burch Fall/Winter 2025 show.
She sported a look in rich navy, including a shaggy-textured coat draped over matching velvet pants.
A structured scarf was wrapped around her shoulders, secured with a gold pin. The look was completed with glossy pointed-toe shoes and she carried a slouchy black leather handbag with soft folds and a long strap.
In January, she was part of the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 show at Paris Fashion Week, when she wore a halter-neck dress with a sheer, form-fitting bodice that transitioned into a voluminous skirt with meticulously folded fabric. The gunmetal shade accentuated the texture of the design.
“This dress is a literal masterpiece,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a video of herself on the runway. “I’m completely lost for words.”
Mona Kattan’s Kayali fragrance brand parts ways with cosmetics giant Huda Beauty
Updated 18 February 2025
ARAB NEWS and REUTERS
DUBAI: Huda Beauty — founded by US Iraqi sisters Huda, Mona and Alya Kattan — is divesting its ownership in fragrance brand Kayali, co-founded by Huda and Mona Kattan in 2018, the pair announced on Monday.
Mona is partnering with global growth equity firm General Atlantic to jointly own the fragrance brand.
Kayali will operate as an independent company, with Mona continuing as the brand’s CEO.
Since its launch in 2018, Kayali’s product offerings have grown to 24 fragrances, which are sold by retailers like Sephora, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and ASOS.
The move allows Huda Beauty’s owners to buy back a stake held by TSG Consumer Partners since 2017, according to a joint statement by the three companies on Monday.
Beauty sells everything from luxury eyelashes to makeup and skincare products. The company has more than 54.2 million followers on Instagram, well ahead of rivals Rare Beauty and Kylie Cosmetics which have 8 million and 24.7 million followers respectively.
"Huda Beauty is making history as one of the few established beauty brands to return to full founder ownership," the statement said, according to Reuters.
A value for the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, was not disclosed.
Goldman Sachs International acted as Huda Beauty’s financial advisor, and Gibson Dunn served as its legal advisor. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as Mona Kattan’s legal advisor.
Raymond James served as General Atlantic’s financial advisor, and Latham & Watkins served as its legal advisor.
Lyna Khoudri shares teaser trailer for Afghanistan evacuation drama ‘13 Days, 13 Nights’
Updated 18 February 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: French Algerian actress Lyna Khoudri took to social media to share the teaser clip and poster for upcoming film “13 Days, 13 Nights” by director Martin Bourboulon this week.
The Afghanistan evacuation drama, the full title of which is “In The Hell Of Kabul: 13 Days, 13 Nights,” stars Khoudri alongside Danish BAFTA-winning “Borgen” star Sidse Babett Knudsen, Roschdy Zem (“Chocolat,” “Oh Mercy!”), and theater actor Christophe Montenez.
Set against US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, as the Taliban marches on Kabul, the film recounts the true story of French Commander Mohamed Bida who oversaw security at the French embassy, which was the last Western mission to remain open.
Commander Bida negotiated with the Taliban to organize an evacuation convoy with the help of Eva, a young French Afghan translator played by Khoudri.
The teaser trailer features aerial shots of hundreds of people attempting to leave Afghanistan, as well as close up shots of Zem who plays Commander Bida.
“This movie happens to be one of the most exciting challenges that has been offered to me. Firstly, there is this character based on a real-life person, whose fate intersects with history itself. Secondly, the context of fleeing your own country has left no one indifferent thus bringing us to a story within history, the one that we are interested in,” Zem said, according to a previous article by Deadline.
“It tells us how, in the heart of a recent drama, a few individuals only listened to their courage to save what many would consider dear, with the feeling that they were only doing what seemed right to them. Heroes, as many would call them, because they retain the most essential quality: humanity,” he added.
The film marks a change for Bourboulon after period dramas “The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady,” “The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan” and “Eiffel.”
Khoudri, 32, first rose to prominence in her role as Nedjma in Mounia Meddour’s critically acclaimed drama “Papicha.” For her work in the film, she won the Orizzonti Award for best actress at the 74th Venice Film Festival, and she was nominated in the Cesar Awards’ most promising actress category.
Khoudri also starred in the 2019 mini-series “Les Sauvages” and in 2016’s “Blood on the Docks.”
Notably, she was cast in Wes Anderson’s 2021 comedy “The French Dispatch” alongside Timothee Chalamet, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Owen Wilson.
Layali Diriyah brings art, culture, global flavors to its 4th edition
Host of winter entertainment options celebrate ancient Saudi city’s history, identity
Food, luxury retail, hands-on heritage activities among visitor attractions
Updated 18 February 2025
Waad Hussain
RIYADH: Layali Diriyah, the immersive winter entertainment experience, is offering a range of cultural and culinary experiences that celebrate the identity and history of the ancient city of Diriyah.
Now in its fourth edition, the event offers live music, light displays, and a number of restaurants.
Asma Al-Shehri, one of the visitors, told Arab News: “The place is absolutely stunning, and it’s even more well-prepared than I expected. What impressed me the most was the incredible hospitality — the organizers are everywhere, ready to assist and welcome you.”
Layali Diriyah opened on Feb. 12, 2025 as part of Diriyah Season 24/25.
Food lovers can indulge in a selection of flavors at six cafes and nine restaurants, featuring both local and international cuisines. The event also includes 13 luxury retail stores, giving visitors access to renowned brands, unique handcrafted items, and winter-inspired food and beverage stalls.
A highlight of this year’s event is the “Chef’s Table Experience,” where visitors can enjoy exclusive dishes prepared for the occasion. This fine-dining experience, with its elegant winter atmosphere, adds a luxurious touch to the vibrant energy of Layali Diriyah.
Standout features of this year’s event include interactive art installations such as the palm frond bridge. Other attractions include traditional swings and live folk performances.
Visitors can also engage in hands-on heritage activities that celebrate Diriyah’s historical significance, allowing them to experience the traditions and customs that define the region.
Entry to Layali Diriyah is SR185 ($49) per person. Alternatively, visitors can book a table at one of the participating restaurants and pay the entrance fee through The Chefz app. The event also provides a shuttle service from designated parking areas.