DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's evolving cultural landscape is nowhere more visible than in AlUla.
“Culture is not unipolar, nor should it be. It is shaped by interaction and evolving dialogue,” Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan Altouq stressed after the conclusion of the first AlUla Future Culture Summit.
Altouq spoke to Arab News on Wednesday and outlined what the future holds for the Kingdom’s culture sector. “This is an incredibly exciting time for Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Organized by the Royal Commission for AlUla, the summit, which was not open to the public, unfolded this week from Feb. 25 to 27 in Daimumah, nestled in the heart of AlUla’s oasis.
Altouq described Daimumah as a “microcosm of AlUla, where contemporary art, nature, and heritage converge,” underscoring its significance as a venue for the event.
Themed “Cultural Landscapes,” the summit served as a platform for innovative arts, cross-cultural dialogue, and creative expression. (Supplied)
Explaining the choice of location, Altouq emphasized the historical and cultural importance of AlUla, saying: “AlUla is an area of immense historical and cultural importance. Having the inaugural Future Culture Summit here was an important way to match content with context.”
Themed “Cultural Landscapes,” the summit served as a platform for innovative arts, cross-cultural dialogue, and creative expression.
Altouq said: “The concept of a cultural landscape evokes the dynamic interplay between human creativity, tradition and heritage, and the natural environment.”
Highlighting the intrinsic connection between culture and environment, Altouq described AlUla as a cultural landscape, emphasizing the deep bond between people and their natural surroundings.
The selection of “Cultural Landscapes” as the theme aimed to spotlight this symbiotic relationship, Altouq said.
The summit drew 150 prominent figures from the global cultural sector including Lise Macdonald, president L’Ecole School of Jewelry Arts, Laurent Le Bon, Centre Pompidou president, and German curator and museum director Klaus Biesenbach.
“The Future Culture Summit has effectively brought together cultural leaders from all over the world,” he commented. “They have come to share their experiences and ideas but also to be exposed to a vibrant and growing cultural sector in Saudi Arabia that is really reimagining how we think about cultural institutions, the role of emerging technologies, and ways to ensure these institutions serve their communities.”
Altouq expressed enthusiasm for Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation and said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Saudi Arabia. Nowhere is the Kingdom’s transformation more evident than in its cultural sectors, which are not only opening up new areas of the economy but enriching the lives of citizens and helping to build a vibrant society.”
“The Future Culture Summit is part of the wider project to facilitate new avenues of exchange and collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the international cultural community,” he added.
With a focus on expanding culture’s role in advancing and fostering positive change, the summit offered a diverse program of panel discussions, immersive performances, workshops, and guided exploration of AlUla’s rich cultural and physical landscape.
During “The Future of the Culture Scene: A Factor of Success,” Abdullah AlRashid, Director of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), asserted the need for doubt and reflection in sustaining a successful cultural future, whilst Jason Harborow, Vice President of Culture of RCU, advocated for looking beyond the numbers and KPIs to focus on how to extend and expand reciprocal human bonds and learning.
In another panel, “Landscapes: Cultural Development and Environment,” speakers explored the connection between cultural infrastructure and the environment, exploring the integration of art in the landscape. Akiko Miki, International Artistic Director of Benesse Art Site Naoshima & Director of Naoshima New Museum of Art, said: “The journey to a site is part of the experience - taking time and experiencing time itself is something very important for our human activities.”
Alongside the performances, panels and keynotes the summit featured a range of workshops led by leading cultural institutions, exploring topics such as the integration of blockchain in museums, rethinking landscapes as mediums of cultural expression, and fostering cross-cultural collaboration.
