Safeya Binzagr, a trailblazing Saudi artist known for preserving the cultural heritage of her homeland, passed away at the age of 84. The news was first reported by The National.
Throughout her career, Binzagr dedicated herself to documenting and immortalizing traditional Saudi customs and architecture, especially as modernization began to alter the landscape of the region in the mid-20th century. With a lack of formal record-keeping practices in the Arabian Gulf, her work became vital in capturing the essence of Saudi culture. Over the years, she transformed her studies into fabric collages, vivid paintings, and intricate sketches that reflected her country’s folk heritage.
Born in Jeddah’s Al Balad district in 1940, Binzagr witnessed the rapid development of Saudi Arabia following its unification. While oil wealth fueled the country’s urbanization, the arts had little infrastructure or support. Despite this, she pursued her passion for art, a rarity for women in that era. She studied in Cairo and London before returning to Saudi Arabia in the late 1960s, where she became instrumental in the development of regional art.
In 1968, Binzagr, along with her friend Mounirah Mosly, became one of the first female artists to exhibit in Saudi Arabia at the Dar Al Tarbiya girls’ school.
“I thought, I will do the exhibition; they will receive it or they will object. If they do, I will try again,” Binzagr told Vogue Arabia. “If you have the will, you will. Hard work always pays off and pushes you to be in the beginning of the line.”
Her commitment to the arts culminated in the founding of the Darat Safeya Binzagr in 1995, a cultural center offering art classes, private courses for women, and a women-only art salon, the first of its kind in the country.
Binzagr’s legacy continued to grow internationally. She was featured in prominent exhibitions, including the 2022 “Khaleej Modern” exhibit at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, and her work was part of the second edition of Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. One of her notable pieces, Turathuna (Our Tradition), a series of 39 photogravures of women in traditional Saudi attire, remains a celebrated highlight of her body of work.
In 2017, King Salman bin Abdulaziz awarded Binzagr First Class honors for her significant contributions to the preservation of Saudi art and culture.