Dhahran – Asdaf News:
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative of Aramco, is driving a year-long global design narrative that culminates with Ithra Design Week, taking place from November 16-21, 2026. This event marks the last step of a journey initiated through international engagements in Milan, Spain, Jordan, and Doha, underscoring the pivotal role of design within the global cultural landscape.
The journey began with Ithra’s participation in Milan Design Week. Reflecting the Center’s aspirations to strengthen the role of design within the cultural landscape, Ithra showcased the exhibition “Default is Not Universal” at the Isola Design Festival, within the framework of Milan Design Week 2026. The exhibition represented the first tangible realization of Ithra Design Week as a regional platform for designers, highlighting their creativity and cultural narratives to international audiences while opening channels for global dialogue on the future of design.
Building on this momentum, Ithra returned to Spain’s Concéntrico Festival (June 18-23) for the third consecutive year. The immersive installation BAYN, created by Saudi architect Faris Alosaimi and commissioned by Ithra, will be presented at the Plaza de la Diversidad in Logroño. Following its debut in Spain, BAYN will be presented in Saudi Arabia as part of Ithra Design week. BAYN draws on two architectural archetypes, the courtyard and the tent, not as formal elements, but as spatial concepts expressing two complementary modes of living. The courtyard represents permanence: an inward-facing space with a clear center. Within the courtyard, life is organized and relationships take shape. The tent, by contrast, represents movement: a flexible, adaptable structure that redefines itself with each relocation. Together, they form a balance between stability and transformation. From this intersection, the installation proposes a mobile courtyard, a lightweight structure with a flexible fabric enclosure that defines space without enclosing it. Inside, a central void preserves the essence of the courtyard, while the system remains temporary, demountable, and able to move across locations. Conceived as a traveling installation, it moves from Spain to Saudi Arabia for Ithra Design Week, embodying the idea of movement itself.
Another part of the journey is the Ithra Design Residency, a curated initiative introduced as part of Ithra Design Week, in collaboration with Amman Design Week. This partnership establishes a cross-cultural design exchange between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, supporting emerging designers through a production-based residency. Positioned around the idea of accumulation as a living, cross-cultural process, the residency will bring together six designers from Jordan and Saudi Arabia to explore how ideas, materials, and identities are formed through layered histories and shared regional narratives. The residency culminates in a curated traveling exhibition, first presented at Amman Design Week and later showcased at Ithra Design Week, extending the dialogue across both contexts and audiences.
Following these engagements, Ithra will take part in Design Doha (November 5-7), with a comprehensive program that positions design as a dynamic force within contemporary culture. Across the Biennale, Ithra will present an exhibition, host design-led workshops, and activate two interactive pavilions that invite public engagement and community participation.
Ithra Design Week culminates this global journey, serving as the annual celebration of design, creativity and innovation, and a leading regional hub for design practices from Ithra and beyond. Evolving from the legacy of Tanween, Ithra Design Week expands from a platform for designers into a dynamic design ecosystem. It brings together international and regional designers, studios, thinkers and institutions through a curated program of exhibitions, talks, workshops, masterclasses, installations, design challenges and public engagement programs. Rooted in Saudi Arabia and connected globally, it aims to be a leading global design ecosystem that reflects the region’s transformation while contributing meaningfully to international design practice.
