Ithra Joins the First Global Museum Community General Conference Held in the Middle East
Ithra participates in the first ICOM General Conference
Dhahran – Asdaf News:
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative by Aramco, participates in the 27th edition of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference, taking place from November 11–17, 2025, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Hosted for the first time in the Middle East, the 2025 edition highlights the region’s growing contribution to global museum dialogue and discourse. Held every three years, the ICOM General Conference is one of the world’s major museum gatherings.
Under the theme “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities,” the conference explores how museums respond to evolving social, cultural, and technological contexts. Its three subthemes—intangible heritage, youth power, and new technologies—frame Ithra’s participation, which reflects Ithra’s work in connecting heritage, research, innovation and community engagement.
Ithra’s contributions include three conference papers, a mentoring session sharing insights about Ithra Children’s Museum, a Gold Tier exhibition booth at the Museum Fair and a film screening. These activities present Ithra’s insights into how museums can remain responsive to community needs while sustaining cultural continuity through learning, creativity, and collaboration.
The paper presentations address themes of craftsmanship, education and storytelling. Crafting Continuity: Ithra’s Museum Practice as a Model for Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Action is presented by Farah Abushullaih, Head of the Museum at Ithra, and Preeti Gaonkar, Strategy and Partnerships Lead. The Power of Independence Through Educating Unskilled Employees to Highly Skilled Professionals: The Case of Ithra Museum Collections is presented by Konstantinos Chatziantoniou, Collections & Conservation Manager at Ithra; Jhun Seiga Mercurio, Art Handler; and Gregorio Fernandez, Assistant Conservator and Art Handler at the Ithra Museum. Exhibition Pitch for Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet is presented by Preeti Gaonkar, Strategy and Partnerships Lead at Ithra.
At the Museum Fair, Ithra’s exhibition booth illustrates its curatorial vision across art, craft, collections, and education. The space features three major projects, the Khoos Initiative, the Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet exhibition, and In Praise of the Artisan, which together express how Ithra connects material heritage with contemporary creativity. The Khoos Initiative is a multidisciplinary series of projects focusing on Saudi palm weaving, one of the Kingdom’s oldest crafts. The initiative reinterprets this practice through design, research, and community engagement, presenting it as a living tradition that continues to inspire both artisans and audiences. The Hijrah exhibition demonstrates how Ithra embeds scholarly research into exhibition development, combining historical artifacts, commissioned artworks, and immersive storytelling to explore one of the most significant journeys in Islamic history. In Praise of the Artisan celebrates craftspeople past and present, positioning Islamic craft traditions as living heritage. The exhibition brings together commissioned works by artisans with historic pieces from Ithra’s collection, the Al-Sabah Collection, and the Tareq Rajab Museum. Featuring objects from cities including Makkah, Delhi, Istanbul, Cairo, Fez, and Granada, it celebrates craftsmanship as a bridge between time, place, and knowledge.
Alongside the exhibition booth, Ithra presents a screening of Sa’fa, a short film by German-Lebanese filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour, offering a poetic look into the palm-weaving traditions of Al-Ahsa Oasis, a UNESCO heritage site. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Kaabour, filmmaker Yasin Salazar, and Farah Abushullaih, Head of the Museum at Ithra, exploring how film can preserve and reinterpret craft traditions as living heritage and extend the stories of communities beyond traditional spaces.
Farah Abushullaih, Head of the Museum at Ithra says, “This week at ICOM Dubai, we’re turning ideas into shared practice. For Ithra, our first participation is about listening, presenting usable methods, and building partnerships that outlast the conference. We aim to show first-hand how heritage and innovation can work together in practice: from artist and community-led programs to initiatives like Hijrah, the Ithra Art Prize and Khoos. Our participation strives to exchange, and to co-create work that raises curatorial rigor, strengthens cultural engagement, and leaves measurable impact.”
Beyond its papers and presentations, Ithra participates in the ICOM regional excursion program on November 17, welcoming delegates to Ithra to experience its exhibitions, learning spaces, and curatorial programs firsthand.
