Arts AlUla has announced the 10 finalists for the second edition of the AlUla Design Award. The finalists will be exhibited at Paris Design Week where 5 winners will be announced on 7 September 2023.
Twenty designers were originally shortlisted and prototypes of their designs were evaluated by a Jury of recognised leaders from the design world. The 10 finalists’ designs will be exhibited in an exhibition conceived by acclaimed designer Hervé Sauvage from 8 – 16 September 2023 at Galerie MR21 during Paris Design Week. The exhibition will be open to press on the 6 September during the Paris Design Week press day.
The winning designs may be commissioned, supported in their production and promoted within AlUla and its network of influential and high-profile regional and international activities. The presence of the award at PDW provides an opportunity for design audiences to engage with new and exciting designers interpreting the landscape and heritage of AlUla in unique ways for cultural retail.
Jury member, Cyril Zammit says, “The designers have captivated the jury with their innovative concepts, artistic excellence, and imaginative interpretations of AlUla’s rich cultural heritage. The quality and innovation have proven exceptional. There were more international entries than the first edition and I was pleased to discover a stronger voice from the Middle-East with emerging new talents. All the finalists have managed to truly capture the essence of AlUla and transform it into tangible retail designs.”
The 10 finalists are:
- Tawa by Shaddah Studio (Saudi, based in Saudi Arabia)
- Naba Tea Tiffin by Ikkis, Gunjan Gupta (Indian, based in India)
- AlUla Terrains: Dates Serving Set by Teeb (Lebanese & Saudi, based in Saudi Arabia
- Incense Heritage Collection by Sarra Hafaiedh (Tunisian, based in Tunisia)
- Ohjea by Thaqeb Studio (Saudi, based in Saudi Arabia)
- Oil Lantern by Imane Mellah (French, based in Paris)
- Book Lithic by Ahmed AlMannai, Rashed AlAraifi and Hamad AlMannai, and Abdulla Binhindi (Bahraini, based in Bahrain)
- Arabian Leopard Sculpture Set by Abdulla Binhindi (Bahraini, based in Bahrain)
- Steps Clasp by Sara Kanoo (Bahraini, based in Bahrain)
- Sand Garden by Tajalla Studio (Saudi, based in Saudi Arabia)
About Arts AlUla Design Award
The AlUla Design Award (ADA) is an Open Call that invites established and emerging designers to conceptualise and propose exceptional items for cultural retail. The award recognises design inspired by the heritage, landscape and artistic legacies of AlUla.
Jury Members of this year’s edition are:
- Cyril Zammit – Design Advisor & Consultant | Cyril Zammit Design Consultancy
- Robert Frith – Creative Director | King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, Ithra
- Emily Marant – Design Consultant & Founder | Studio Marant
- Raghad Hazzazi – Arts and Cultural Programming Lead | Royal Commission for AlUla
The six winners of the first edition were Reem Bashawri, Nour Shourbagy, Tarek ElKassouf, Teeb, Rukun x Harry Dobbs, and Niko Kapa.
About Arts AlUla
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance, AlUla has long been a consistent and ever-evolving hub of cultural transfer. It has been a place of passage, a crossroads for trade, and home to successive civilizations who carved, sculpted and inscribed their lives into the landscape. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Arts AlUla will bring to fruition a series of new initiatives, projects and exhibitions. The artwork curation will speak to RCU’s vision for the continued development of AlUla’s contemporary art scenes: positioning the arts as a key contributor to AlUla’s character, the quality of life for its local community and the region’s economic future.
Arts AlUla focuses on transferring the talents of the Saudi nation and the local AlUla community into meaningful long-standing social and economic opportunities. This is a key part of the Journey through Time masterplan bringing together the 15 different landmark destinations for culture, heritage and creativity across AlUla.
About AlUla
AlUla tells the complex story of human settlement and civilisation through art and design. It ranges from prehistoric architecture upon the volcanic fields that continue to compel and confound archaeologists; the exquisite sculpture of ancient Arabian tribes who made AlUla their capital; the monumental Nabataean tombs carved out of sandstone mountains and decorated with intricate symbols inspired by Italian, Egyptian and Greek cultures; and the mud-brick labyrinth to AlUla Old Town decorated with the artwork of its inhabitants.
For more information please visit: @artsalula, @experiencealula, @alulamoments and https://aluladesignaward.com/.
