Safeya Binzagr, pioneer of Saudi art, dies at 84

Safeya Binzagr, an influential artist who significantly contributed to the development of women's roles in Saudi Arabia's art community, has passed away at the age of 84. She started her artistic journey during a period when the country's cultural framework was underdeveloped, capturing traditional architecture and customs at risk from modernization. After her studies in Cairo and at St Martin's School of Art in London, she returned to Saudi Arabia, where she held one of the nation’s first female-led art exhibitions at Dar Al Tarbiya girls' school in 1968. In 1995, she founded Darat Safeya Binzagr, Saudi Arabia's inaugural cultural center. Her work gained prominence as the country increasingly embraced contemporary art, highlighted by the recent second Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.