Saudi Arabia launches seventh edition of its top art grant

Welcome to Al-Monitor Riyadh.

This week, we’re highlighting the launch of the open call for the seventh edition of the Ithra Art Prize — one of the Arab world’s most generous art grants. We also preview Saudi artists participating in Uzbekistan’s inaugural Bukhara Biennial in September, a series of captivating cultural and economic events at the Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka and a new popular Lebanese eatery in Riyadh.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Riyadh's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: Ithra launches open call for $100,000 art prize

“Mem” by Ayman Zedani, winner of the first edition of the Ithra Art Prize in 2018. (Courtesy of Ithra)

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) has announced an open call for the seventh edition of the Ithra Art Prize — one of the Arab world’s most generous art grants — offering a prize of $100,000.

The prize, which was launched in 2017, supports contemporary artists from or based in 22 Arab countries. While the prize initially focused on Saudi artists, it has since expanded its reach to artists from around the region. Awarded biennially, the present edition is open for submissions until Oct. 16, 2025. Both new commissions as well as recontextualized existing works are accepted as part of the submission process and must be closely linked to the artist’s creative work.

Applicants must be aged 18 or older and of Arab heritage, and they must be residing in one of the 22 Arab countries. Individual artists as well as artist collectives can apply.

The prize money enables the winner to complete and realize ambitious creative projects. Once completed, the work will be exhibited at Ithra, providing a platform to showcase the artist’s creation to a wider audience.

“The Ithra Art Prize supports artists who engage creatively and critically with conditions and ideas that speak to the diverse contexts of our region,” Farah Abushullaih, head of the Ithra Museum, said in the official release. “The Seventh Edition of the Ithra Art Prize marks a homecoming that expands the prize’s scope through an exhibition at Ithra featuring multiple works in dialogue with one another.”

Past recipients of the prize include Saudi artists Ayman Zedani in 2018, Daniah Al Saleh in 2019 and Fahad bin Naif in 2020. Berlin-based Tunisian-Ukrainian artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke won in 2021, and in 2023, Iraqi-Finnish artist Adel Abidin was the recipient.

In addition to the prize money, the winning artwork will be permanently showcased alongside Ithra’s permanent art collection.  This year, the prize will also endow generous production grants to five finalists, enabling them to showcase their work in an exhibition at Ithra in spring 2026.

Dates: Submission through Oct. 16; exhibition spring 2026

Location: Ithra

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Ovun Bistro

A spread of delicious mezze at the new Ovun Bistro in Riyadh. (Courtesy of Ovun Bistro)

If you’re craving Lebanese food in the Saudi capital, this new eatery is the place for you. Located in the heart of Al Sulaymaniyah district, Ovun Bistro blends traditional Lebanese flavors with a contemporary twist in an authentically designed Levantine dining experience. Displayed on the walls are various ceramics and handicraft pieces from the Levant region, creating a space that exudes a warm and inviting ambiance. Be sure to try an assortment of traditional mezze to start with, such as tabbouleh, fattoush, hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara. Then try some of the delicious signature main dishes like Kabab Arnabi, Kibbeh bel Laban and Kharouf. Sahtein!

Location: 4096 Prince Abdulaziz Ibn Musaid Ibn Jalawi Street, Riyadh

Find more information here.

3. Riyadh diary

A view of the entrance portal of Khoja Kalon and Kalon Minaret in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. (Courtesy of Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation)

• Saudi artists participate in Uzbekistan’s inaugural biennial

In early September, Uzbekistan will stage its first-ever art biennial in the historic city of Bukhara. The event will present the work of over 70 Uzbek artists and participants alongside major international artists such as Antony Gormley from the UK and French artist Eva Jospin. The biennial, titled “Recipes for Broken Hearts,” will feature more than 70 site-specific contemporary projects, each conceived through collaborations between local and international artists. The inaugural edition is curated by artistic director Diana Campbell, also the chief curator of the Dhaka Art Summit. The title is derived from the popular local legend that the recipe of Uzbekistan’s signature rice dish — palov — was created to mend the broken heart of a prince who was not permitted to marry the daughter of a craftsman. The biennial will also present the work of three Saudi creatives: Ahmad Angawai, Dana Awartani and Anhar Salem.

Dates: Sept. 5 through Nov. 20

• Saudi Pavilion Expo 2025 Osaka

The Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan — located on the Yumeshima waterfront — opened at the end of April and is designed by eminent architectural firm Foster + Partners. The structure, inspired by traditional Saudi urban structures and reflecting the country’s rich culture and heritage, presents the diverse cultural and economic breadth that the country offers, particularly during this moment of intense socioeconomic change. Beginning in early August, the pavilion will host a series of events and business gatherings, including a focus on business investment opportunities in the Aseer region.

Dates: Aug. 2 through Oct. 7

Location: Yumeshima waterfront, Osaka

Find more information here.

• ONYX Arena Concerts in Jeddah

If you’re looking to pass the summer with some riveting performances, then head to Jeddah’s ONYX Arena, where you can catch a series of inspiring concerts by international artists such as Black Eyed Peas, Central Cee and R3HAB.

Dates: Through Aug. 8

Location: ONYX Arena, Jeddah

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: “Engulfed - How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World”

In 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the men’s FIFA World Cup — four years after the culmination of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan to socioeconomically transform the country. The book, written by James Montague and published this year by Kings Road Publishing, explores Saudi Arabia’s investment into what the author sees as the political power of sport, using it to both change the country at home and reshape its image internationally. The book is based on exclusive first-hand interviews from Montague’s travels across the kingdom, the United States, northeast England, Spain and Turkey.

5. View from Riyadh

Huda Ali Al-Neb’s “Riyadh Saturated.” (Courtesy of Huda Ali Al-Neb)

Huda Ali Al-Neb, a recipient of this year’s Kingdom Photography Award, playfully explores traditional Saudi architecture in this image, part of a larger series that blends reality and imagination. Inspired by the mud brick structures of her childhood, Al-Neb reimagines them as if built from colored sand, conjuring both nostalgia and wonder. In this evocative photograph, a Saudi woman in a black abaya stands beside a traditional building rendered in bright pink — a striking fusion of heritage and fantasy that brings Al-Neb’s childhood visions vividly to life.

6. By the numbers

• Saudi Arabia has plans to establish a new low-cost airline that will transform the city of Dammam in the eastern part of the country into a logistics hub. The new carrier will serve 24 domestic and 57 international destinations, operating a fleet of 45 aircraft, according to Arab News.
• The airline, which has yet to be named, is projected to create over 2,400 direct jobs contributing to Saudi’s Vision 2030 plan to boost the non-oil economy and foster local employment.