عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Culture

Hartwig Fischer Appointed Founding Director of Museum Specialized in World Cultures in Riyadh

The Saudi Museums Commission logo
The Saudi Museums Commission logo
TT
TT

Hartwig Fischer Appointed Founding Director of Museum Specialized in World Cultures in Riyadh

The Saudi Museums Commission logo
The Saudi Museums Commission logo

The Saudi Museums Commission announced on Wednesday the appointment of Dr. Hartwig Fischer as the founding director of a museum focused on world cultures, set to open in 2026 in the Royal Arts Complex situated in King Salman Park, now under construction in Riyadh.

Fischer will set the foundations for the museum and lead it, based on his global expertise in leading international cultural institutions and museums, the Commission said in a statement.

Fischer, according to the statement, has extensive experience spanning decades of curating exhibitions, leading cultural institutions, and spearheading innovative initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue and appreciation across cultures.

Under his guidance, the museum will serve as a dynamic hub for cultural exchange, offering innovative programming, educational initiatives, and collaborative partnerships to inspire curiosity, appreciation, and admiration for the world's diverse cultural traditions.

With its striking 110-meter-high building designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, the museum will offer visitors a unique opportunity to explore world cultures through themes relevant to all humankind. It endeavors to relate Saudi and Arabian Peninsula heritage and highlight the cultures that have emerged and expanded over time from Africa across Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. It will offer visitors an extraordinary opportunity to explore human universals and shared values, and the fascinating diversity of achievements across millennia and across the globe.

As Saudi Arabia embarks on an unprecedented journey of cultural transformation, the establishment of such a museum represents a pivotal moment in the Kingdom's cultural renaissance, added the statement.

The flagship museum, which will constitute an iconic landmark within the Royal Arts Complex and King Salman Park, will play an important role in enriching the Kingdom's burgeoning cultural landscape.

The museum also epitomizes the Saudi Museums Commission's commitment to establishing state-of-the-art museums that celebrate global heritage and foster cross-cultural dialogue and understanding.

Most Viewed

 
 
Culture

Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia moved Saturday to ban mining at one of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site's "enduring connection" to Indigenous Australians.

The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu national park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first "Crocodile Dundee" film.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site -- which has never been mined -- honoring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told a crowd of Labor Party supporters in Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he added.

Archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools near the Jabiluka site in 2017, which they dated at tens of thousands of years old.

The find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have had with our land", Albanese said.

"The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years.

"That beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world," he added.

Discovered in the early 1970s, efforts to exploit the Jabiluka deposit have for decades been tied-up in legal wrangling between Indigenous custodians and mining companies.

It is one of the world's largest unexploited high-grade uranium deposits, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia previously held mining leases at Jabiluka.

The conservation of Indigenous sites has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Australia's conservative opposition has vowed to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.