Traditional handmade headbands have made a comeback in a big way at the ongoing Janadriyah National Festival for Heritage and Culture, where the bands are selling like hot cakes.
Traditional women’s headbands in various colors and adorned with exquisite ornaments have became a fashion trend as women and girls of all ages and nationalities are seen wearing them in the festival premises. As a result, their sales have risen dramatically.
Visitor Ebtisam Al-Ruwaily from the Kingdom’s Northern region said the headband is a key part of traditional women’s clothing and has been worn since the olden days.
It was usually made of a long black cloth decorated with gold or silver ornaments that women wore as head adornments on special occasions.
Um Abdullah from Arar said women used to wear headbands all the time, especially older ladies, The bands were sewn by hand and adorned with beads and gold and silvers coins, and were tied around the head like a bandana.
Another Janadriyah visitor, Um Rashid from Qassim, said that traditional headbands had been worn by women in Najd villages to carry water jar or crops on their heads, adding that it was occasionally embroidered with gold coins to be worn at wedding ceremonies.
Um Ghazi pointed out that the headbands were worn in the past to hold the hijab or ‘Shailah’ (traditional head covering) used by women all over the Kingdom, and it is believed to relieve headaches.
Leading the revival of the traditional headbands in the Janadriyah festival were young girls such as Abeer, Hanan and Rasha, whose heads were adorned with beautiful heritage headbands that expressed their pride to wear a traditional ornament associated with the Saudi culture.
One of the girls said that she wore the band because it is easy to wear and that it looks beautiful.
Traditional handmade headbands set trend at Janadriyah festival
Traditional handmade headbands set trend at Janadriyah festival
5 artists named on 2026 Ithra Art Prize shortlist
DUBAI: Five artists from across the Arab world were announced this week as winners of the seventh edition of the Ithra Art Prize, marking a shift in the format for the one of the region’s most established contemporary art awards.
For the first time, the shortlisted artists — Aseel Al-Yaqoub from Kuwait, Bady Dalloul from Syria, Heba Y. Amin from Egypt, Ala Younis from Jordan and Jawad Al-Malhi from Palestine — will all receive production grants. Their new works will be unveiled in a dedicated exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran in spring.
The change reflects a growing emphasis on supporting artistic production rather than selecting a single winner.
Farah Abushullaih, head of Ithra’s museum, said: “This year’s shortlist reflects the incredible diversity, creativity and critical thought shaping contemporary art in the Arab world. Expanding the shortlist to include five finalists aims to strengthen dialogue across cultures and generations, while reaffirming Ithra’s support for artists and their distinct artistic perspectives.”
This year also sees the prize exhibition returning to Dhahran, after previous editions toured cities including Dubai, AlUla and Riyadh.
Ithra said more than 500 submissions were received through an open call, with works undergoing a multi-stage review process before the final five were selected.
The shortlisted projects span a wide range of mediums and research-driven practices, engaging with contemporary political, social and historical questions across the Arab world.
