DUBAI: US Dutch Palestinian model Gigi Hadid celebrated her daughter Khai’s fourth birthday this week with a heartfelt message and a series of images shared on Instagram.

Hadid offered her 77.4 million followers a glimpse into her daughter’s personality, writing: “Our girl is 4 today, and we celebrated all week. She loves animals (fantastical ones too), music, Baby Yoda, all things nature and bugs, ‘Descendants,’ anything squishy or miniature, and, if possible, will be in the water from dawn until dusk.”

Describing Khai as “curious, adventurous, loving, and oh-so-witty,” Hadid added: “Khai, it is my life’s greatest joy and pride to be your mama! Thank you for the four best years of my life — you remind me to live life to the fullest every day, in the most simple and beautiful ways. Your possibilities are endless, my sweetest love!”

The birthday celebrations included an outdoor arts and crafts session, allowing Khai and her friends to explore their creativity.

The event featured a Baby Yoda-themed cake, a nod to the birthday girl’s fondness for the character from the Star Wars series “The Mandalorian.” 

The cake was playfully inscribed with the phrase “May the FOURce be with you.” The birthday festivities also featured pony rides and water activities.

Khai’s father, British Pakistani singer Zayn Malik, also shared a touching message on Instagram. “Happy birthday to the most important person in my life,” he wrote. “I love you more than words allow me to express, beyond proud to call you my daughter … grateful for every second I get to spend next to you as you become the incredible person I know you already are.”

He added: “Four years ago today my life changed forever, and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you.”

Khai’s name is a nod to Hadid’s Palestinian grandmother Khairiah.

Hadid and Malik called it quits in 2021 but Hadid has previously opened up about co-parenting with her daughter’s father. She told The Times that “keeping the importance of the child’s happiness at the forefront” is what is most important to her.

“You have a long life alongside this person,” Hadid added of her ex-partner, before noting that she tries to schedule work commitments “when Khai is with her dad.”

She said: “That she can be with both parents makes me very happy.”

DUBAI: Safeya Binzagr, one of Saudi Arabia’s foremost female artists, died on Sept. 12 at the age of 84. Art institutions, artists, cultural experts and enthusiasts and former students were quick to pay tribute.  

Among them was the influential Swiss curator and art critic Hans Ulrich Olbrist, who posted a picture of a handwritten note from Binzagr from 2022. “If you have the will, you will,” it read; a quote that encapsulates Binzagr’s own story as a persevering artist, who has been affectionately called “the mother of Saudi art.”  

Binzagr was born in 1940 in the Harat Al-Sham neighborhood of Jeddah, a place she developed a long-lasting bond with. From a young age, at a time when it was rare for Saudi and Arab women to travel, Binzagr had the opportunity to see the world outside of the Kingdom. When she was seven, her family relocated to Egypt, where she was educated until high school.  

Although she was away from her beloved Jeddah, the streets of Cairo reminded her of home. “The scent of the old alleys lingered with her, their images dwelled in her memory, and a strong sense of nostalgia pulled her back to a special place enriched by the warmth of its people, their valuable customs and traditions,” reads a statement published by Darat Safeya Binzagr, the late artist’s cultural center. 

England played an important role in her formative years too. After completing her education in Egypt, Binzagr moved there to attend finishing school, and in 1976, she graduated with a degree in drawing and graphics from London’s prestigious St Martin’s School of Art.  

1968 was a defining year for the artist, then in her late twenties. She showed her paintings publicly for the first time in the Kingdom (along with her Saudi contemporary, the late Egypt-trained artist Mounirah Mosly) at Dar at-Tarbiyah al-Haditha School in Jeddah, making them reportedly the first women to exhibit their art in Saudi Arabia.  

During the 1970s and 1980s, the ever-active Binzagr held shows in Jeddah (where she eventually returned), Dharan, Madinah, London, Paris and Geneva. She continues to be honored in public events decades later. For instance, at the Diriyah Biennale in Riyadh earlier this year, a selection of her colorful drawings of women in traditional Saudi attires charmed audiences.  

Binzagr’s oeuvre was mostly devoted to telling a variety of narratives surrounding Saudi culture, everyday scenery and architectural heritage. Whether depicting a wedding ceremony or pilgrims at the Holy Kaaba, children playing games or hardworking fishermen, she was a dedicated chronicler of her surroundings, but also a preserver of native traditions, which some were forgetting as the country rapidly modernized. 

Perhaps Binzagr’s greatest work is “Al Zabun,” her stunning 1969 portrait of a woman dressed in a bright yellow gown, seated against an ornamental background. It has been described as “The Arab Mona Lisa” or “The Mona Lisa of Hijaz.” The title, according to a statement from Darat Safeya Binzagr, refers to the type of dress the woman is wearing.  

“The bodice underneath, which served as a vest or bra, was fastened by six buttons of silver, gold or diamonds — depending of her wealth — all connected by a chain,” the statement explains. “Her hair is worn in the Mihrama wa Mudawwarah style, in which the hair was braided with a cotton scarf coiled around the head, then covered with a cap.”  

But arguably Binzagr’s greatest achievement in her storied career was the establishment of her namesake cultural center in Jeddah in 2000, where countless students have had the opportunity to study art, thanks to Binzagr’s generosity and commitment to education.  

One of the center’s former pupils, artist Daniah Alsaleh, told Arab News: “I had the privilege of studying at Safeya Binzagr’s atelier from the early 2000s until around 2008, under the guidance of painter Dorothy Boyer. Safeya created a unique space where students could immerse themselves in the principles of drawing and painting, something that was quite rare at the time. She would often visit our lessons, sharing her personal experiences and stories about her work. Her passion extended beyond art — she was a dedicated collector of traditional Saudi costumes, tea cups, and various artifacts, and had a remarkable eye for beauty. Safeya also opened her extensive art library to the public, fostering a sense of community and education.  

“I am incredibly grateful for the impact she had on my artistic journey,” Alsaleh continued. “Safeya was a true pioneer, dedicated to both art and education, and her contributions will continue to inspire many.”