Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar gain the cultural upper hand with heavy investments in the creative economy

Special Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar gain the cultural upper hand with heavy investments in the creative economy
Louvre Abu Dhabi. (Supplied/Yiorgis Yerolymbos)
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Updated 13 January 2023
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Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar gain the cultural upper hand with heavy investments in the creative economy

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar gain the cultural upper hand with heavy investments in the creative economy
  • Three Gulf Arab states have invested billions in cultural enterprises, museums, exhibition spaces and music venues
  • The investments are paying off as the countries enjoy a cultural renaissance propelled by state-led and private patronage

DUBAI: After the lockdowns, closures and travel bans of the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated tourism, entertainment and concert-going, 2022 saw what might be described as a mad dash to make up for lost time.

Even as the prospects of a post-pandemic economic recovery dim for the rest of the world owing to the war in Ukraine, the Gulf energy-exporting countries — particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar — are plowing back a good portion of their windfall profits into activities in the field of culture.

Over the past decade, these countries have invested billions in cultural enterprises, establishing new museums, exhibition spaces and music venues to boost tourism, economic growth and instill a sense of national pride.




The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. (David Levene)

These investments appear to be paying off, with the Gulf states enjoying a cultural renaissance, propelled by both state-led and private patronage. This at a time when governments elsewhere in the world are slashing their arts budgets.

In the UK, for instance, leading galleries and museums have seen drastic cuts to their Arts Council England funding for 2023, while the former Arab cultural capitals of Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut, devastated by wars, instability and talent drain, are today mere shadows of their former selves.

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Vision 2030 in 2016, he placed culture and the forging of a new creative economy at the center of the Kingdom’s development agenda.

The plan was to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil and gas and to implement economic, educational and administrative reforms along with social transformation.

Since it was established in 2018, the Ministry of Culture has spearheaded a growing roster of cultural events around the Kingdom and internationally. In 2021, it reported that Saudi Arabia had hosted 100 cultural events led by 25 new cultural organizations.

Among its recent and forthcoming highlights are the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, first held in December 2021, and the Islamic Arts Biennale, due to open on Jan. 23 in the Hajj Terminal at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.

According to the ministry’s “Report on the State of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2021: Culture in Public Spaces,” some 10.5 million domestic tourists visited the nation’s cultural sites in the first 10 months of 2021 — exceeding the 8.5 million total for 2019.

In December, the ministry opened a cultural center, Fenaa Alawwal, at the former headquarters of the Kingdom’s first commercial bank in Riyadh. It established the center as part of its effort to fulfill the Vision 2030 goal of “encouraging culture as a way of life.”

The center, which will be used for a range of cultural activities, aims to bring together Saudi and international creatives.




The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum opened in Doha last year. (David Levene)

While the idea of a renaissance signals a flourishing of artistic activity, it also points to the idea of breaking down barriers, providing a platform for the free exchange of ideas.

“In history, there are many turning points which have been important to artistic movements, from the Renaissance in Italy to the Nahda in the Arab world, all of which have been characterized by immense creativity and a blossoming artistic scene,” Manuel Rabate, director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, told Arab News.

“It is undeniable that the Gulf has undergone significant cultural development in recent years, and this is powered by continuous investment, cross-cultural collaborations, and recognition of the importance of culture and arts in building a deeper understanding and fostering dialogue.”

The social transformation in the Kingdom is nothing if not palpable. From gigantic raves in the desert to festivals such as Riyadh Seasons, art biennales and film schools, the process is inspiring creative thought and intercultural dialogue.

“For the community there’s certainly an increase in the variety, quantity and quality of art exhibitions in every major city in Saudi,” Qaswra Hafez, founder and director of Jeddah’s Hafez Gallery, told Arab News.

“We are contributing like we always have, by producing professionally curated exhibitions, mainly for Saudi artists, and by facilitating exposure for our artists through participating in local, regional and international art fairs.”

Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Qatar has its own state-led cultural plans. For more than a decade, Qatar has been investing billions in its cultural scene, which has developed in parallel with the country’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Its goal, like that of Saudi Arabia, is to move its economy away from an overreliance on petroleum and natural gas and toward tourism and cultural activities.

At the helm of Qatar’s culture drive is Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al-Thani, a global art patron and collector and sister of the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

In March 2022, Sheikha Mayassa announced that Qatar would build three new museums — the Lusail Museum, Art Mill Museum, and the Qatar Auto Museum.

FASTFACT

• Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have scaled up their cultural plans for the coming year.

• Domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia witnessed annual growth rates of 4.5 percent between 2017 and 2021.

The new venues will be operated by Qatar Museums, a government entity founded in 2006 to oversee cultural institutions, including the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Islamic Art.

“Culture is the most powerful tool. It has no religion, no language; it’s just open,” wrote Sheikha Al-Mayassa in her book, “The Power of Culture,” published in 2022. But, as she stressed in her 2014 TED talk, art and culture are also about building a national identity.

“We are revising ourselves through our cultural institutions and cultural development,” she said at the time. “Art becomes a very important part of our national identity.”

Reem Al-Thani, acting deputy CEO of exhibitions and marketing and director of centralized exhibitions at Qatar Museums, says there is a strong desire to share the nation’s cultural identity with the outside world.

“We want to present our history and the larger context of our nation; it is not just that all of sudden we are here because of oil,” she told Arab News.

“This is who we are. This is our history, this is where we come from, these are our traditions, our wisdoms and our intellect.




“It is undeniable that the Gulf has undergone significant cultural development in recent years,” said Manuel Rabate, Director, Louvre Abu Dhabi. (Supplied)

“It is also the role of the museums to present this in a very succinct manner. We also want to make sure the present Qatari generation understands their past.”

For more than a decade, the UAE has been pursuing a similar strategy, while at the same time trying to attract big-name international galleries to the Arabian Peninsula.

The Saadiyat Cultural District in the UAE capital is home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2017 as part of a $27 billion tourist and cultural development project on Saadiyat Island

It is also home to the Guggenheim, due for completion in 2025, the Abrahamic Family House, due in 2023, and the Zayed National Museum, due in 2025.

“All of these museums represent the UAE’s commitment to cultural development and its desire to be a global leader in the arts,” Rabate told Arab News.

The UAE, like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, has implemented state-funded plans to grow the cultural sector and its contribution to the economy.

In 2018, the UAE’s cultural authorities agreed to a country-wide cultural strategy that would work in “a more strategic, sustainable and ambitious direction,” dubbed the Culture Agenda 2031.

The UAE’s National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries, launched in 2021, aims to increase the contribution of the cultural and creative industries’ sector by 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2031.

Among its principal aims are “strengthening the UAE’s position on the global cultural and creativity map” and to “inspire creative thinking and attract cultural talents and creative entrepreneurs from around the world.”

The road map places a strong emphasis on business and entrepreneurship with objectives that include “attracting freelancers and creative start-ups to set up, live and work in the UAE.”




MISK Art Week in Riyadh. (Supplied)

The private art sector in Dubai in particular has been spurred on by the arrival of foreign players. Of note are the number of international galleries that have opened in recent years, including that of the French art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin, who opened his first space in Dubai in 2022.

Others, such as Efie Gallery, Dubai’s first African-owned contemporary art gallery, was launched in 2021 with a mission “to be at the forefront of the rapidly burgeoning contemporary African art scene worldwide,” according to its co-founder Kwame Mintah.

“The selection of Dubai as our first location is due to the relative nascence of the local art scene here, which in turn has offered the perfect terrain for expansion and innovation,” he told Arab News.

Foreign gallerists are not only flocking to Dubai to participate in the UAE’s cultural expansion; they are drawn to the welcoming business environment opening up across the Gulf.

“It is the ease of doing business here — probably easier than anywhere else in the world — as well as the huge government support that made us open here,” Indian collector and art entrepreneur Tushar Jiwarajka, who launched Mumbai’s Volte Art Projects in Dubai in September 2021, told Arab News.

“Dubai offers a relatively blank canvas in terms of its cultural landscape — it’s one of the few places in the world where one can actually help shape the cultural landscape.”
 


Flynas launches operation base at Madinah, announces 6 new international, domestic destinations

Flynas launches operation base at Madinah, announces 6 new international, domestic destinations
Updated 02 December 2023
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Flynas launches operation base at Madinah, announces 6 new international, domestic destinations

Flynas launches operation base at Madinah, announces 6 new international, domestic destinations

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline Flynas on Friday launched its newest operation base at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The airline also inaugurated six destinations and routes, including two domestic flights to Abha and Tabuk, and four in the international category — to Dubai, Amman, Istanbul, and Ankara — to be operated alongside the other four existing destinations, from Madinah to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Cairo.

It brings to 10 the total destinations that are now served by Flynas from the new operation base at Madinah.

Flynas, the leading low-cost carrier in Saudi Arabia, has now become the only airline with four bases across the Kingdom, in line with its expansion and growth plans and in parallel with the objectives of the Pilgrim Experience Program to facilitate access to the Two Holy Mosques, and the National Civil Aviation Strategy.

The strategy will enable national air carriers to contribute to connecting 250 international destinations to the Kingdom, as well as reaching 330 million passengers and attracting 100 million tourists annually by 2030.

Bander Al-Mohanna, CEO and managing director of Flynas, said: “Launching our newest operation base and inaugurating the new routes come in response to the high demand for Madinah, notably from pilgrims and visitors to the holy mosque.”

He added that more new destinations and routes will be announced in the future.

Al-Mohanna said: “Operating 10 routes from the new base as a start was made possible as a result of more than 100 percent upscaling of our all-Airbus fleet in less than two years, in line with the growth and expansion plan launched early last year under the slogan ‘We Connect the World to the Kingdom’.”

One of its key features was signing an agreement with Airbus for 30 new A320neo aircraft last June, as part of an order of 120 Airbus aircraft and approval to increase new orders to 250, he added.

Flynas connects more than 70 domestic and international destinations with more than 1,500 weekly flights and has flown more than 60 million passengers since its launch in 2007. It aims to reach 165 domestic and international destinations, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.


24th Saudi relief plane heads to Gaza Strip

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center sends 24th relief plane to Gaza. (SPA)
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center sends 24th relief plane to Gaza. (SPA)
Updated 01 December 2023
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24th Saudi relief plane heads to Gaza Strip

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center sends 24th relief plane to Gaza. (SPA)

RIYADH: The 24th Saudi relief plane, operated by the Riyadh-based King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), arrived in Egypt on Friday carrying 31 tons of aid, including food and shelter materials, the official SPA news agency reported.
The assistance, which was dispatched on Thursday, is to be transported to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The aid efforts are in keeping with Saudi Arabia’s historic role in supporting the Palestinian people in times of crisis, the SPA statement said.


Saudi cultural event aims to put theater, performing arts in spotlight

Saudi cultural event aims to put theater, performing arts in spotlight
Updated 01 December 2023
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Saudi cultural event aims to put theater, performing arts in spotlight

Saudi cultural event aims to put theater, performing arts in spotlight
  • The Argentinian shows, which conclude on Dec. 5., have included circus and magic performances, a jungle show, and classic plays such as “Cinderella” and “Alice in Wonderland”

RIYADH: The Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission organized the eighth Urban Art event as part of a series of Argentinian shows being held at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.

The show, which runs until Saturday in the Blue Hall, aims to increase awareness about the theater and performing arts sector in the Kingdom and around the world.

The show, which runs until Saturday in the Blue hall, aims to increase awareness about the theater and performing arts sector in the Kingdom and around the world. (SPA)

After kicking off with a hip-hop performance, the show has featured acrobatics, bike jumps and skateboards, and showcased football skills to a background of tango music.

An accompanying educational exhibition included dishes presented by local Argentinian and Latin American restaurants. There were also specially designed photo booths and a shop selling Argentinian products and costumes.

HIGHLIGHTS

• An accompanying educational exhibition included dishes presented by local Argentinian and Latin American restaurants.

• There were also specially designed photo booths and a shop selling Argentinian products and costumes.

The Argentinian shows, which conclude on Dec. 5., have included circus and magic performances, a jungle show, and classic plays such as “Cinderella” and “Alice in Wonderland.”

In addition, the shows also help to bolster the Saudi Culture Ministry’s efforts to boost international cultural exchange, one of the goals of Vision 2030.  

 

 

 


Feathers fly at falcon festival

Feathers fly at falcon festival
Updated 01 December 2023
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Feathers fly at falcon festival

Feathers fly at falcon festival
  • The birds and their owners were battling it out in the 400-meter Al-Melwah competition
  • The star performer in the first round of the Gear Pure Category for Professionals was Amin bin Abdullah Al-Mallah

RIYADH: Professional falconers and falcon owners took part in four qualification rounds on Friday on the fourth day of the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival.
Organized by the Saudi Falcons Club and held in Malham, north of Riyadh, the birds and their owners were battling it out in the 400-meter Al-Melwah competition.
The star performer in the first round of the Gear Pure Category for Professionals was Amin bin Abdullah Al-Mallah, who took first and third places with his birds 0016 and 0018. Barghash bin Mohammed Al-Mansouri took second place.
In the second round of the Gear Pure Qarnas Category for Professionals, Armizan bin Abdullah Al-Dousari took first place with his bird Mutrib, followed by Amin bin Abdullah Al-Mallah with Duja and Al-Mansouri with Samdan.
Falconer Nour bin Ghazay Al-Mutairi won the third round of the Qarmousha Gear Category for Professionals with Al-Rafiha, followed by Abdulhadi bin Abdullah Al-Mutairi with SM and Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Mansouri with Al-Quri.
In the fourth round of the Qarmousha Gear Qarnas Category for Professionals, falconer Amin bin Abdullah Al-Mallah took all three of the top spots with his birds Al-Qahira, Al-Diriyah and Jim. The winning bird set a best time of 16.987 seconds.


Saudi Arabia wins membership of International Maritime Organization council

Saudi Arabia wins membership of International Maritime Organization council
Updated 02 December 2023
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Saudi Arabia wins membership of International Maritime Organization council

Saudi Arabia wins membership of International Maritime Organization council
  • 143 of the UN-affiliated agency’s 175 members voted for the Kingdom to serve on the 40-member council for the period 2024-2025
  • Saudi transport minister met with counterparts from Jamaica, Nigeria, Indonesia, Sweden and the Philippines as well as IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim

LONDON: Saudi Arabia has earned a place on the 40-member council of the International Maritime Organization for the period 2024-2025. The Kingdom received 143 votes from the agency’s 175 member states in an election at its headquarters in London on Friday.

The UN-affiliated organization is the global maritime authority that sets the international standards designed to ensure the safety and security of maritime transport, reduce pollution from ships, and implement initiatives that help preserve the marine environment and protect nature.

Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority described the Kingdom’s success in the vote as the culmination of the efforts and support of the nation’s leaders to develop maritime transport in accordance with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 development and diversification agenda.

It is “a unique national achievement that propels us toward a promising future,” the TGA said, and “a cause for celebration” that reflects “unwavering commitment toward supporting initiatives aimed at safeguarding the marine ecosystem.”

The success is in recognition of the initiatives the Kingdom has adopted to protect and preserve the marine environment, it added, and it will provide the country with the opportunity to contribute to the development of international regulations and laws relating to global trade and maritime transport.

“The win serves as a confirmation of the Kingdom’s influential position and impact within the (IMO), the significant role of the Saudi naval fleet, ambitious initiatives and projects aligned with the national strategy for transportation and logistical services, and contributions and initiatives in safeguarding the marine environment and empowering seafarers,” the TGA said in a message posted on social media network X.

Under its national strategy for transport and logistics services, Saudi Arabia has adopted a number of initiatives and set ambitious targets that have contributed to the development of the nation’s maritime sector, officials said.

By 2030, the Kingdom aims to handle 40 million containers a year, facilitate clearing and cargo-handling procedures, and develop marine tourism through cruise ships and coastal transportation, taking full advantage of the Kingdom’s strategic location as a meeting point between East and West and the Red Sea’s role as a route through which 13 percent of global trade passes.

Meanwhile, the Saudi transport minister held meetings in London on Friday with several officials on the sidelines of the 33rd session of the International Maritime Organization Assembly, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser met with ministers from Jamaica, Nigeria, Indonesia, Sweden and the Philippines as well as IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.

During the meeting, Al-Jasser also met with the Yemeni, Qatari and Bahraini transport ministers.

They discussed strengthening partnerships and employing innovative technologies in the maritime industry.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Britain was elected as IMO president by its member states. 

The IMO is the UN agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.