“The winning projects are a reflection of the individual capabilities and talent of each of the winners, who will now take their projects to market,” said Sultan Albadran, Creative Programs Developer at Ithra. “Guided by knowledge partners Vanina, NYXO, LEAD, and Data is Beautiful, who provided support throughout the six-day event, all participants are creatives with immense potential who can continue their path of learning and challenge themselves to further develop their projects.”
Winners of the Graphic Design Challenge (Invisible Threads: Visualizing the Unseen Impact) were Zahra Mansour, Deema Albuolayan, and Fatima Bukhamseen, who created “Eyes Wide Open,” a design revealing data about death rates related to air pollution for the years 1990 and 2021 through two adjacent eyes, one representing the older generation and the other the current one. The project emphasized the passing down of knowledge and values from one generation to the next, while highlighting everyone’s impact on the environment.
Winners of the Pavilion Design Challenge (City Breathe: Pavilion of Urban Respiration)—Mohamed Alghoneimy, Turki Aljandal, Muzun Bin Rubayan, and Mahmood Alkawi—gathered all the different movements that take place in airports into one place: their pavilion design “The Determinal.” The project applies deconstructivism to represent the movement of people, airplanes amongst others that happen in an airport.
Fashion Design Challenge winning project_commercial product mockup
The winners of the Furniture Design Challenge (Reimagine the City: Activating Public Ground for Multispecies Living) saw nature as their muse with their project “Bloom,” which aims to create communication between humans and outdoor creatures. Abdullah Albattat, Ahmed Al Aqran, Nader Al Metairi, Nawaf Al Ghamdi, and Mohammed Albayyabi created a design where birds and plants find water and a home.
Fashion Design Challenge winning project ©Ahmed AL-Thani
“MRG,” the winning project in the Fashion Design Challenge (Sustainable Bag: Biomaterial and Local Legacy), uses sea salt and fish scales to create a sustainable, biodegradable bag that reflects the clarity of the sea—a cherished element in nature that carries stories and memories that remind us of why it should be safeguarded. Winning participants who worked on the project include Ghayda Alnasser, Ebaa Altaweel, and Rawan Alsalem.
About Tanween Challenges
Tanween Challenges is a six-day competition that offers a unique opportunity for designers across all disciplines to tackle real-world problems. Designers from all over the MENA region are presented with the opportunity to craft original, practical solutions within tight timeframes and with limited resources. Each of the four challenges welcomes 20 participants (individuals or in teams) annually to put their creative skill sets to the test. Supported by challenge partners, and a supplementary program of workshops and talks, participants receive the tools to tackle their challenge briefs and propose a solution. One winning project from each challenge is selected for commercial production by Ithra’s Tanween Challenges production partners.
About the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra)
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is a world-class destination and the beating heart of Saudi Arabia’s creative and culture industry contributing to its prosperity by enabling talent, supporting content production and encouraging cross-cultural exchange that promotes social harmony and human development. Ithra is Saudi Aramco’s most ambitious CSR initiative and the largest cultural contribution to the Kingdom. Through a compelling series of programs, workshops, performances, events, exhibitions and other various initiatives, Ithra creates world-class experiences that bring together culture, innovation and knowledge designed to appeal to everyone. Ithra’s components include the Idea Lab, Library, Theater, Museum, Cinema, Great Hall, Energy Exhibit, Children’s Museum and Ithra Tower.
For more information, please visit: www.ithra.com.
