Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
The Badr bin Abdulmohsin Foundation is dedicated to the international promotion of the arts and culture of Saudi Arabia. It was established in 2017 by HRH Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsin. Prince Badr is a preeminent Saudi poet and a leading creative artists having been active in painting, music theatre and TV drama.
Inspired by Prince Badr’s personal experience as an artist, and recognising the huge potential for arts and culture to promote exchange and understanding between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world, the Foundation will work to position Saudi arts and culture in their creditable status among world arts and cultures and promote them internationally. By employing the soft power of arts and culture, the Foundation will build solid cross-cultural bridges of mutual understanding between the Kingdom and its partners around the world.
The Badr bin Abdulmohsin Foundation’s vision is for Saudi Arabia to be leading international face of Arab and Islamic culture. The Badr bin Abdulmohsin Foundation’s mission is promote the highest quality Saudi Arabian arts and culture on the most prestigious international stages. The Foundation is currently developing its first programmes.
These will be organised around three pillars of activity:
1. commissioning and co-production with international partners of Saudi cultural projects for the international market;
2. advocacy and thought leadership to promote debate within the Kingdom and with international partners about the role of Saudi, Arab and Islamic art on the global stage;
3. capacity building: strategic actions to help create more international quality Saudi art.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.
Saudi Arabia is undergoing a once in a generation change, led by the agenda set out in Vision 2030. Arts and culture will play a huge role in delivering the change we need to see in the Kingdom in all three areas of focus for Vision 2030. The Foundation will help the building of a more vibrant society: Supporting and encouraging the work of Saudi musicians, artists, actors and directors will provide new opportunities for the enjoyment and fulfilment of Saudi citizens.
The Foundation will help diversify the economy: Around the world, some of the most rapidly growing economic sectors are the creative industries, and these present great opportunities for growth in Saudi Arabia. Arts and culture can help to promote new links and understanding between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. There are few better ways to build bridges between nations than the sharing of the work of their artists. Historically, activity in many areas of arts and culture in the Kingdom has been limited. Literature and poetry is traditionally the most revered art form, and there are numerous prizes and outlets for literary work. Although there is a long tradition of music and song, concerts have been rare until recently.
There is no commerical theatre sector in the Kingdom and little tradition of theatrical productions, although a bottom-up scene is emerging. A number of visual artists with international impact have emerged in recent years, for example Ahmed Mater and his Edge of Arabia initiative.
There are also private galleries emerging, first in Jeddah and more recently in Riyadh and international interest has been increasing. Roughly one feature film a year has been released over the last decade. Barakah Meets Barakah by Mahmoud Sabbagh won a prize at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival and there have been large numbers of production companies emerging in recent months. However, with the radical changes in society underway, that is changing rapidly.
Government plans to double household spending on entertainment, 300 new cinemas are under development, music and film production is springing up across the country. Both Government, through the General Entertainment Authority, the General Culture Authority and other agencies and private organisations, both commercial and philanthropic, are putting in place initiatives to support these changes.
Many of these new initiatives are focused on supporting artists at work within the Kingdom. This is essential work to support and promote the development of Saudi artists and culture. However, promoting the arts and culture of Saudi Arabia internationally has less support.
So Prince Badr decided to put his efforts into supporting work that can be taken to international audiences. The Foundation will concentrate on employing the soft power of arts and culture to build solid cross-cultural bridges of mutual understanding between the Kingdom and its partners around the world.
