DHAHRAN: The iconic building at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture was illuminated in purple and gold on Sunday night in celebration of the finale of the fourth “Al-Sharqiya Gets Creative.”
The event is an annual initiative that invites the creative community throughout the Eastern Province to come together and showcase its creative side.
It began on Nov. 1 and ended on Nov. 25, and has become the chief movement in Saudi Arabia aimed at realizing the Eastern Province’s creative potential.
The event brings together the creative community from across the Eastern Province each year to showcase its creativity. (AN photo by Abdulrhman Bin Shalhoub)
By honoring the talents of local residents, it has worked to educate, bring together and help foster the creativity space — with a sprinkling of the Al-Sharqiya spirit.
Various designated spaces were used for the event in the Eastern Province, including Ithra, which helped turn the entire region into a collective creative hub.
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By honoring the talents of local residents, it has worked to educate, bring together and help foster the creativity space — with a sprinkling of the Al-Sharqiya spirit.
With more than 20,000 people working within the initiative and more than 1 million people interacting with it — in addition to reaching tens of millions digitally — this year’s offering represented a huge cultural event that will help establish Al-Sharqiya as a place where creativity is celebrated.
The event brings together the creative community from across the Eastern Province each year to showcase its creativity. (AN photo by Abdulrhman Bin Shalhoub)
As a testament to Ithra’s deep commitment to fostering creativity, it hosted the closing ceremony.
Hadeel Al-Eisa, head of communities and content at Ithra and the lead at the ‘Al-Sharqiya Gets Creative’ initiative, praised the community for being a huge part of the success of the Eastern Province celebration.
She said: “I am pleased to welcome you today to the lighthouse of creativity, King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra.
“We thank you for accepting our invitation to attend the closing ceremony of the largest community partnership initiative in the Kingdom, ‘Al-Sharqiya Gets Creative,’ now in its fourth edition, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, governor of the Eastern Province.”
She said the 25-day program had flown by and that the closing ceremony was a small token of support, during which Ithra and the Eastern Province could come together to celebrate the community.
With 300 partners and more than 1,500 events in 12 cities, the area came together to teach workshops related to creativity, host various events, and collaborate.
Al-Eisa said that the Eastern Province was innovating “every day” and that people believed creativity was for all, not just one particular field or sector.
