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Jeddah Historic District Program Unveils 'Culture Square' Landmark Project

Culture Square aims to enrich the visitor journey while positioning the district as a global tourist destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
Culture Square aims to enrich the visitor journey while positioning the district as a global tourist destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
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Jeddah Historic District Program Unveils 'Culture Square' Landmark Project

Culture Square aims to enrich the visitor journey while positioning the district as a global tourist destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. SPA
Culture Square aims to enrich the visitor journey while positioning the district as a global tourist destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. SPA

The Jeddah Historic District Program, under the Ministry of Culture, unveiled “Culture Square,” a landmark project designed to restore Historic Jeddah by establishing specialized centers dedicated to various artistic and cultural disciplines.

By offering immersive experiences, Culture Square aims to enrich the visitor journey while positioning the district as a global tourist destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030.

Located on the shores of Al-Arbaeen Lagoon, overlooking the historic Jeddah area, Culture Square is home to the Performing Arts Center and the Digital Arts Museum "teamLab Borderless," a recipient of the Makkah Excellence Award for Cultural Excellence. The square bridges the past and present, a concept reflected in its design and purpose.

The Performing Arts Center will host a variety of cultural events, including theatrical performances, international festivals, film screenings, and sessions inspired by the spirit of "Al-Markaz." The center also features restaurants and cafes, fostering spaces for gathering and dialogue. Meanwhile, the teamLab Borderless museum embodies the contemporary essence of culture by merging art, science, and technology.

At the heart of Culture Square is the restored historic Bait Amir Al Bahar, located between the Performing Arts Center and the teamLab Borderless museum.

Overlooking Hamza Shehata Street, named after the renowned late Saudi poet, the house stands as a testament to the area's cultural richness. Known for its distinctive architectural design, the single-floor structure is surrounded by large arched windows and historically served as a lighthouse guiding ships. Its unique design reflects its historical function. The program has meticulously restored this iconic landmark, demonstrating its commitment to preserving the region's architectural and cultural heritage.

The Culture Square project showcases an architectural vision that harmoniously blends the rich traditions of historic Jeddah with forward-looking renewal. The design integrates the architectural heritage of the region with the interconnected Hijazi urban fabric, preserving its identity and cultural essence. Simultaneously, it aligns with the philosophy of the teamLab Borderless museum, which emphasizes harmony between visitors and artwork. The concept is reflected in the building’s sloping roof, which seamlessly merges with the surrounding landscapes, reinforcing the themes of integration and unity with the environment.

Spanning a total area of approximately 26,000 square meters, Culture Square comprises two main buildings. The Center for Performing Arts and Cinema, covering 16,000 square meters, serves as the headquarters of the Red Sea Film Festival. It features a grand entrance lobby, a main theater with 868 seats, five cinema halls with 564 seats, a versatile internal lobby, nine dialogue halls, a cinematheque, a restaurant, and three cafes. The teamLab Borderless museum, covering 10,000 square meters, displays around 80 interconnected works, symbolizing a world without boundaries. The innovative space blends art, technology, and nature, offering a transformative cultural experience and enriching the Kingdom's cultural landscape.

The Historic Jeddah Program prioritized public health and environmental sustainability in designing and implementing Culture Square. The project incorporates advanced air conditioning systems with 100% air purification technology, touchless elevators and escalators with ultraviolet sterilization, and a water conservation system that recycles condensate water from cooling units for irrigation purposes. These measures enhance resource efficiency and demonstrate the program's commitment to environmental preservation.

The launch of Culture Square is a significant milestone in the Historic Jeddah Program’s efforts to restore the area, preserve its tangible and intangible heritage, and enhance the visitor experience. With its careful preservation of the urban fabric and a design that seamlessly blends contemporary architecture with heritage-inspired elements, the square serves as a distinctive cultural and visual landmark in Jeddah. The project reflects a broader vision to invest in the area's history and cultural assets, transforming them into economic tributaries and establishing the region as a prominent destination on the global tourism map.

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Los Angeles Artists, Collectors Reel from Wildfires

An aerial view of the fire damage caused by the Palisades Fire is shown in the Pacific Palisades, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake
An aerial view of the fire damage caused by the Palisades Fire is shown in the Pacific Palisades, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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Los Angeles Artists, Collectors Reel from Wildfires

An aerial view of the fire damage caused by the Palisades Fire is shown in the Pacific Palisades, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake
An aerial view of the fire damage caused by the Palisades Fire is shown in the Pacific Palisades, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake

As the Los Angeles area begins the formidable task of rebuilding after the most destructive wildfires in its history, the city's artists and art collectors are mourning what could amount to billions of dollars in irreplaceable art that went up in flames.
The wildfires have altogether destroyed more than 13,000 structures, with many among those located in the affluent Palisades neighborhood -- home to many priceless art collections -- and the town of Altadena, which was home to a flourishing artist community.
Some of those art collectors likely lost many of their acquisitions as the fires burned out of control for weeks, while local artists have watched as their studios and homes burned, destroying their work and jeopardizing their livelihoods.
"There's part of me that's numb or in shock," said Brad Eberhard, an artist who ran Altadena's Alto Beta gallery, which also housed his own studio. Both burned down in the Eaton Fire. "Every half hour I remember another thing gone."
Alto Beta, a 550-square-foot (51-sq-meter) space in an Altadena shopping center, hosted exhibits focused on artists who had not had a showing in Los Angeles in the past three years.
Eberhard lost between 50 and 70 of his own sculptures as well as about two dozen pieces of art from his friends and colleagues.
When he returned to visit the gallery, "all I recognized was an aluminum door frame," he said.
Just days before the gallery burned down, Alto Beta had opened a show called "Quiver" exhibiting paintings from Mary Anna Pomonis, a Los Angeles-based artist. Pomonis described the work in the show as female-centered paintings rooted in devotional imagery.
"It felt like it was an appropriately dramatic response to work that I felt dealt on that scale of an epic narrative," Reuters quoted her as saying.
Many in the Los Angeles area have heard the fates of their homes but have been unable to return to see what's left, as tens of thousands of Angelenos remain under evacuation orders.
Kim McCarty, a watercolor painter and owner of the Michael's Santa Monica restaurant with her husband, lost her home to the Palisades fire. Like many, she has not been able to return to assess the damage in person.
Through their restaurant, which opened in 1979, the McCartys became acquainted with local artists and housed many pieces in their Malibu home from friends such as Roger Herman, a German-born artist who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Pippa Garner, an American artist who died in Los Angeles in December.
"(I'm) sad to lose that all because it's such a loving thing," said McCarty, who added she was not able to salvage any of her own artwork before she was forced to evacuate.
Experts have estimated that the LA wildfires could be the most expensive disaster in US history. AccuWeather has estimated at least $250 billion in losses due to the fires, although that figure could still change.
It is too early to estimate much of the losses that are art-related, but there were perhaps "billions" of dollars worth of fine art in properties in affected areas, said Christopher Wise, vice president at Risk Strategies, an insurance broker and risk management consultancy.
"If you take a look at the size of the areas that are under threat or have burned, the scale of it really is staggering," he said.
Still, Wise cautioned that the amount of losses remains unclear, as many collectors have yet to return to their homes.
Despite the uncertainty created by the wildfires, the organizers of Frieze Los Angeles made the decision last week to go ahead with the international art fair, scheduled for late February.
Frieze, which also holds annual fairs in London, New York and Seoul, has presented the Los Angeles edition since 2019, elevating the city's status as an art capital. The fair attracts galleries and collectors from around the world, especially those from the US West Coast.
"Since the fair's founding six years ago, Frieze has been proud to support and be part of this vibrant community," said a Frieze spokesperson. "The challenges the city is currently facing only strengthen our commitment to work alongside the community to rebuild and recover together."
Frieze Los Angeles, in conjunction with several smaller art fairs, aims to send a message to the local art community by going forward despite the fires, said Marc Selwyn, the owner of Marc Selwyn Fine Art in Los Angeles.
"I think it's important that people know that LA is open for business and art is something that can be a boost for people in these kinds of times," the gallery owner said. The world-famous Getty Museum, which survived the fires, led several major art organizations in standing up a $12 million LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, which is set to provide emergency relief to artists and others who work in the arts.
If there is a silver lining to be found in the disaster it may lie in how the Los Angeles artistic community has pulled together to help one another, said Eberhard. He has already been able to find homes in other galleries for most of the shows that Alto Beta was set to exhibit this year.
"I didn't know that the artist community was this caring. I really didn't, because artists are notoriously, and accurately, independent, self-reliant, like little islands," he said.