Ithra's Year of Handicrafts in 2025 turned artisanship into live archive

2025 was a year that the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative by Saudi Aramco, honoured crafts as vessels of memory and a reflection of identity, by offering a wide-ranging programme of initiatives dedicated to elevating craftsmanship.

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Across the year, Ithra presented more than 25 programmes and events, with the participation of over 100 artists, offering new perspectives on handicrafts as evolving cultural practices, shaped by lived experience and in dialogue with contemporary artistic production. Ithra's creativity strengthened the presence of craft in today's cultural landscape.As part of the programme, Ithra presented seven art exhibitions, four of which were launched last year, with the participation of more than 100 Saudi and international artists. Eternal Crafts: The Art of the Manuscript offered audiences an immersive introduction to Islamic illumination, featuring eight master artisans specialising in paper making, calligraphy and gilding. It was accompanied by hands-on workshops, bridging knowledge and practice. Eternal Crafts positioned weaving as a living tradition one that evolves over time, while preserving its communal essence.

In a related context, Crafts in Conversation: A Convergence Between Traditional and Contemporary Art launched in 2024 and concluded in mid-2025, served as a platform for exploring intersections between artisanal practices and contemporary artistic experimentation. The exhibition brought together works by 10 contemporary artists who reinterpreted traditional crafts through creative practice, alongside selected pieces of historical Islamic art from Ithra's collection. Complementing such explorations, Continuation of a Craft: Saudi Traditional Costumes shed light on Saudi Arabia's heritage of traditional attire and jewellery, revealing the workmanship behind their design and production. Through materials, techniques and ornamentation, it highlighted the cultural diversity that characterises the Kingdom's regions.