Saudi Gazette report

DHAHRAN — The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), at the weekend concluded the second edition of Tanween, its annual creativity season. The 17-day event welcomed over 100,000 visitors, of all ages and interests, and featured 160 workshops, 35 talks, 12 interactive exhibitions, 18 performances, and three dining experiences.

Commenting on the success of Tanween’s second edition, Ithra’s Acting Director Fatmah Al-Rashid said: “The goal of Tanween is to provide a platform for talented and creative people across various fields covered through a host of programs that included Tanween’s talk platforms, specialized workshops and interactive creative shows offered by a experts and specialists.”

She said this year’s event was held under the theme of ‘Play’, an indispensable component of the creative process, and involved around 232 cultural, artistic and scientific events, including 160 workshops, more than 30 international speakers – including an astronaut, sport champions, artists, entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators – as well as 18 performances showcasing Saudi talents and 13 installations.

She added: “The creative programs, which started with the international theatrical show ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and wrapped up with the Box Wars challenge, engaged 100,000 visitors at Ithra and Al-Khobar’s corniche. As we bid farewell to Tanween 2019, we look forward to delivering more inspiration and creativity for our next edition in 2020. This success could not have been possible without the heroic efforts of over 440 volunteers who supported us brilliantly as true partners. During Tanween they clocked in close to 10,000 hours and received 22,000 training hours via our workshops. We would also like to thank our visitors for making Tanween a resounding success once again, as well as our partners in the government and private sector for their invaluable contribution.”

As the Kingdom’s leading creativity platform, Tanween places talent at the center of its mission and operations. The second edition of Tanween, which was curated around the theme of ‘Play,’ connects local talent with global expertise, bringing in international subject-matter experts, artists, academics, and prominent figures from a variety of disciplines to conduct interactive and engaging talks, workshops, and demonstrations to curious learners and established professionals.

Beyond professional development, Tanween hosted captivating live shows at the Ithra stage. Renowned science presenter and host, Greg Foot took to the stage with his awe-inspiring “Greg Foot’s Extreme Sports Science Show.” The adrenaline-fueled stunt show featured runners and world-class trick cyclists, as Foot spoke about the science and engineering behind the mind-blowing tricks performed on stage. Foot additionally deconstructed the physiology and physics behind man and machine as they competed in spectacular, daring displays.

Tanween 2019 also marked Ithra’s one millionth visitor to date. The significant milestone for Ithra reaffirms the center’s position, both within the Kingdom and the wider region, as a leading creative destination for talent development and cross-cultural experiences, drawing in visitors from the Kingdom and abroad. Built on the promise to offer compelling cultural and creative experiences to audiences of all ages and interests, Ithra delivers a curated year-round purpose-driven calendar of programs to impact the Kingdom’s creative scene, with Tanween being its annual flagship event.