It is a question that is on the minds of everyone who works in arts and culture today. What will happen when the pandemic ends and museums, galleries and cultural centres lift their restrictions? Will visitors return or will the world’s population remain glued to their screens and turn their back on cultural experiences in the real world?
In Saudi Arabia, they already have an answer.
Such is the pent-up appetite for culture and knowledge among young Saudis that when the futuristic Ithra centre in the country’s Eastern Province reopened its doors recently, visitor numbers were at double their level before the pandemic struck.
People in Saudi Arabia enjoy Netflix and social media like everyone else,” says Hussain Hanbazazah, the director of Ithra a cultural hub opened by state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco two years ago. “ But they are hungry for arts, for culture, for story-telling.
“Our job at Ithra is to inspire their hearts and enrich their minds.”
Initially conceived as a museum and a library, over a decade-long design process Ithra, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, soon evolved into something much more ambitious. Today, this striking structure houses an 18-floor Knowledge Tower, an Idea Lab, a theatre and a cinema, as well as a children’s museum, a library and countless other exhibition rooms and cultural facilities.
Hanbazazah says that the programmes and workshops that Ithra has hosted and the performances it has produced have helped to transform cultural life across Saudi Arabia.
“We have already produced more than 40 films, as well as theatre shows, orchestral concerts and design workshops, many of which had never been seen in Saudi before.”
Ithra also serves as an inspiring showcase for a new generation of Saudi artists, writers, photographers and filmmakers. At Ithra, young voices have found the perfect platform for telling thought-provoking and insightful stories from across this incredibly diverse country.
“There is a young generation of Saudis who are eager to create and to tell their stories.”
Hussain Hanbazazah, Director, Ithra, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture
The team of curators, producers and directors here see themselves as catalysts for change, as part of a truly transformative movement in the history of their country.
Across all its artistic and educational activities, Ithra is dedicated to strengthening what it sees as the main social and economic cornerstones of the new Saudi Arabia: culture, community, creativity, knowledge and arts.
Ithra supports initiatives in all these areas. As a result, Hanbazazah says, Ithra will have a lasting impact on Saudi society and ensure that talented and ambitious young Saudis can realise their aspirations and enjoy full and varied lives.
“By investing in arts, culture and creativity, we are creating jobs, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses, and enriching the lives of the people of Saudi Arabia,” Hanbazazah says. “We are helping Saudis fulfil their dreams.”
