Ali Al-Mutairi is the director of the King Abdul Aziz Center for World Culture (Ithra). Since Ithra was launched in 2017, Al-Mutairi’s mission has been to establish the center as the go-to venue for public education and entertainment.
This mission has been achieved through the incorporation of high-quality facilities such as museums, film screenings, auditoriums, exhibition halls and a grand library.
Ithra celebrated the opening of its museum’s first exhibitions this week. The opening was part of Tanween, Ithra’s creativity season, a 17-day event that explores creativity in art, music, film, theater, science, literature, cultural heritage and entrepreneurship.
Al-Mutairi said the museum is an essential part of Ithra. It seeks to spread knowledge, foster cross-culture interaction and sponsor national content by attracting visitors to the exhibitions and the varied interactive performances.
Al Mutairi earned his bachelor’s degree in public relations and image management from King Saud University in 1988. He received a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the Institute of Public Administration in 1992.
Before becoming director of Ithra, Al-Mutairi was director of public affairs for Aramco Services Co. in Texas, manager of public relations for Saudi Aramco and manager of the corporate affairs services department for Saudi Aramco.
This week’s opening event at Ithra showcased film screenings. Visitors got a glimpse of the many galleries from contemporary Saudi and Middle Eastern art, Saudi identity and heritage, Islamic art and its impact, and concluding with the natural history of the Arabian Peninsula.
The 6,000-square-meter museum includes four galleries that showcase the best of Islamic and Saudi history, as well as Middle Eastern modern and contemporary art.
