Hwar AlMadar: AlKhalidi Library and King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra)

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra is a masterwork of architecture, a towering beacon in the Dhahran skyline. The steel-pipe wrapped building represents five mutually-supporting stones that house its components: a library, cinema, theater, great hall, a four-gallery museum, a soaring tower dedicated to educational facilities, labs, studios and more, along with a creativity lab and the freestanding Energy Exhibit. A prominent and pioneering cultural center, Ithra is a platform
for world-class exhibitions, performances, conferences, cinema and theatrical events. The award-winning center was honored by TIME magazine as “one of the greatest 100 places in the world to visit.”
Ithra is dedicated to fostering the Saudi creative and cultural industries as well as acting as a cross-cultural window to act both as a global platform for talent from the Islamic World and a source of curated international experiences for regional audiences. Ithra’s museum features two galleries
dedicated to Saudi and Islamic culture. The most recent edition of Ithra’s Islamic Art Conference featured renowned international speakers, workshops, demonstrations and 11 exhibitions on the
theme “In Praise of the Artisan” — a deep dive into the evolving Islamic arts landscape and a call to action for supporting traditional craft professions. Ithra’s display examines the practice of waqf — a centuries-old approach to charitable endowment associated with mosques and Islamic institutions.

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra is a masterwork of architecture, a towering beacon in the Dhahran skyline. The steel-pipe wrapped building represents five mutually-supporting stones that house its components: a library, cinema, theater, great hall, a four-gallery museum, a soaring tower dedicated to educational facilities, labs, studios and more, along with a creativity lab and the freestanding Energy Exhibit. A prominent and pioneering cultural center, Ithra is a platform for world-class exhibitions, performances, conferences, cinema and theatrical events. The award- winning center was honored by TIME magazine as “one of the greatest 100 places in the world to visit."
Ithra is dedicated to fostering the Saudi creative and cultural industries as well as acting as a cross-cultural window to act both as a global platform for talent from the Islamic World and a source of curated international experiences for regional audiences. Ithra's museum features two galleries dedicated to Saudi and Islamic culture. The most recent edition of Ithra's Islamic Art Conference featured renowned international speakers, workshops, demonstrations and 11 exhibitions on the theme "In Praise of the Artisan" - a deep dive into the evolving Islamic arts landscape and a call to action for supporting traditional craft professions.

 Mikey Muhanna is the Founder and Executive Director of Afikra, a global movement dedicated to reframing the narrative about the Arab world through community events, academy courses, podcasts, and its magazine, Daftar. What began on a Brooklyn rooftop in 2014 has grown into a world-class education and media platform, reaching a community of 200,000+ members across 30 global chapters, with a robust content library featuring hundreds of talks and millions of views.

The Head of Museum at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra). She holds an MA in Museum Anthropology from Columbia University in New York, USA, and a BA in International Business and Intercultural Communications from Aston University in Birmingham, UK. Abushullaih joined the Ithra team in 2012 and worked as Lead Curator of the Great Hall exhibition space. During her time at Ithra, Abushullaih led the launching of a number of programs and initiatives that support the development of the Kingdom’s creative sector and provide a platform for cross-cultural engagement. With her team, she curated and developed several local and international exhibitions in collaboration and partnership with distinguished institutions. Abushullaih has led bringing global art to the Kingdom. In 2021, she introduced the first immersive art exhibition in the Kingdom that addresses the topic of sustainability.

Mr. Khalidi was the Research Coordinator at MAS (2016-Nov 2019). He previously worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1985 to 2013, and was the Coordinator of its Program of Assistance to the Palestinian people from 2000 to 2006. He spent his last 5 years at UNCTAD as the head of the Office of the Director of the Division of Globalization and Development Strategies, which led UNCTAD’s response to the global economic crisis and its participation in the G-20 process. He was also a consultative member of the Welfare Association (Taawon), a founding member of the Family Relief Fund in Palestine (Geneva), and a member of the MAS Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2013.