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.
Ala Younis is from Jordan. (Supplied_
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.
Aseel Al-Yaqoub is from Kuwait. (Supplied)
The change reflects a growing emphasis on supporting artistic production rather than selecting a single winner.
Bady Dalloul is from Syria. (Supplied)
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.”
Heba Y. Amin is from Egypt. (Supplied)
This year also sees the prize exhibition returning to Dhahran, after previous editions toured cities including Dubai, AlUla and Riyadh.
Jawad Al-Malhi is from Palestine. (Supplied)
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.
OPINION: Saudi Arabia’s cultural continuum: from heritage to contemporary AlUla
The director of arts & creative industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla writes about the Kingdom’s cultural growth
Updated 12 February 2026
Hamad Alhomiedan
AlUla: Saudi Arabia’s relationship with culture isa long and rich. It doesn’t begin with modern museums or contemporary installations, but in the woven textiles of nomadic encampments, traditional jewellery and ceramics, and of course palm‑frond weaving traditions. For centuries, Saudi artisans have worked with materials drawn directly from their environment creating objects that are functional, but also expressions of identity and artistry.
Many of these traditions have been recognised internationally, with crafts such as Al-Sadu weaving inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Sadu weaving. (Getty Images)
This grounding in landscapes, resources, and collective history means Saudi Arabia’s current cultural momentum is not sudden, but the natural result of decades — even centuries — of groundwork. From the preservation of heritage sites and, areas, some of which have been transformed into world-renowned art districts, to, the creation of institutions devoted to craft, the stage has been set for a moment where contemporary creativity can move forward with confidence, because it is deeply rooted.
AlUla, with its 7,000 years of human history, offers one of the clearest views into this continuum. Millennia-old inscriptions at Dadan and Jabal Ikmah stand alongside restored mudbrick homes in Old Town and UNESCO-listed Hegra. In the present, initiatives like Madrasat Addeera carry forward AlUla’s craft traditions through design residencies and material research. And, each winter, the AlUla Arts Festival knots these threads together, creating a season in which heritage and contemporary practice meet.
Hamad Alhomiedan, the director of arts & creative industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla. (Supplied)
This year, that dialogue began in the open desert with Desert X AlUla 2026. Now in its fourth edition, the exhibition feels like the pinnacle of the current moment where contemporary art, heritage, and forward-thinking meet without boundaries. The theme of Desert X AlUla 2026 was “Space Without Measure,” inspired by the work of Lebanese-American artist and writer Kahlil Gibran[HA1] [MJ2] . The theme invited artists to respond to the horizons of AlUla’s landscape and interpret its wonder through their perspective.
Works by Saudi and international figures converse directly with nature: Mohammed Al-Saleem’s modernist sculptures bring in celestial-inspired geometry; Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons translates the colour of AlUla’s sunsets; Agnes Denes “Living Pyramid” turns the oasis into a vertical landscape of indigenous plants, . The 11 artists of this year’s edition were able to capture AlUla’s essence while creating monumental works that speak directly to our relationship with the environment.
Artist Performance at Desert X AlUla 2026 by Maria Magdelena Compos Pons and Kamaal Malak. (Courtesy of Arts AlUla and AlUla Moments)
In AlJadidah Arts District, “Material Witness: Celebrating Design From Within,” features heritage craft and material research from Madrasat Addeera alongside work by regional and international designers, showing how they translate heritage materials into contemporary forms.[HA3] [MJ4]
Music adds another element of vitality, filling the streets of AlJadidah Arts District, with performances supported by AlUla Music Hub, featuring local musicians.
The opening of “Arduna,” the first exhibition presented byof the AlUla Contemporary Art Museum, co-curated with France’s Centre Pompidou, adds another layer to this conversation. Featuring Saudi, regional, and international artists, from Picasso and Kandinsky to Etel Adnan, Ayman Zedani and Manal AlDowayan, the [HA5] [MJ6] exhibition signals the emergence of a global institution rooted in the heritage and environment of AlUla, placing local voices in context with world masters.
Each activation in this year’s AlUla Arts Festival is part of the same Saudi cultural continuum, . This is why the Kingdom’s cultural rise feels different from rapid developments elsewhere. The scale of cultural infrastructure investment is extraordinary, but its deeper strength lies in how that investment connects to living traditions and landscapes.
The journey is only accelerating. Rooted in heritage yet open to the world, the Kingdom’s cultural future is being shaped not by sudden inspiration, but by our traditions and history meeting the imagination and creative voices of our present.
