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- Event will gather 150 global leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, artists to discuss the cultural sector
RIYADH: The first AlUla Future Culture Summit will begin on Feb. 25, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
The two-day event will bring together around 150 global leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and artists to deliberate on critical issues within the cultural sector. They will also identify strategies to leverage culture as a catalyst for societal progress and future transformation.
Organized by the Royal Commission for AlUla in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, the summit will feature discussion panels, workshops and interactive displays. It will be focused around three sessions — Rich Foundation, Creative Ground and Harvesting Impact.
Talks, panel discussions and workshops will include a keynote speech from Rakan AlTouq, Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Culture. Other prominent speakers will include German curator and museum director Klaus Biesenbach; professor, architect and artist Ronald Rael; Laurent Le Bon, President of the Centre Pompidou; Curator & Art Critic, Nicolas Bourriaud; Indian painter and art curator Bose Krishnamachari; international artistic director and curator Akiko Miki; Architect Lina El Ghotmeh and Professor Emanuele Coccia; Filmmaker & Actress Fatima Albanawi; Artist Mohammad AlFaraj; along with contributors from summit partners KAUST, Misk Art Institute, King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), Centre Pompidou, and L’ÉCOLE School of Jewelry Arts.
Nora Aldabal, the RCU’s director for arts and creative planning, said the summit’s inaugural session underscored the commission’s “dedication to cultural preservation and the advancement of arts and culture as engines of community development.”
She added that culture served as a “cohesive force, inspiring solutions to global challenges and fostering social advancement through shared knowledge and understanding” and that the summit aimed to assemble thought leaders from around the world to enrich cultural conversations and broaden perspectives.
Al-Ula, a crossroads of ancient civilizations, would serve as the perfect backdrop for a summit founded on such rich traditions, she said.
The summit will also offer participants a chance to experience Al-Ula’s natural and cultural landscape, highlighted by performances from Saudi artist Balqis Al-Rashed and acclaimed Nigerian-British poet and writer Inua Ellams.
- This article has been updated to reflect changes to the speaker lineup at the AlUla Future Culture Summit.