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Fashion Commission Launches Third Edition of Saudi Heritage Revival Program

The program includes a series of in-person workshops in Riyadh - SPA
The program includes a series of in-person workshops in Riyadh - SPA
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Fashion Commission Launches Third Edition of Saudi Heritage Revival Program

The program includes a series of in-person workshops in Riyadh - SPA
The program includes a series of in-person workshops in Riyadh - SPA

The Fashion Commission has announced the launch of the third edition of the Saudi Heritage Revival program, titled “Jewelry and Handcrafted Heritage”, in collaboration with Swarovski and Art of Heritage. The initiative aims to support and enable designers, artisans, and emerging creative talents to reinterpret Saudi Arabia’s rich cultural heritage through contemporary jewelry and accessory design.

Building on the success of previous editions, the program celebrates Saudi craftsmanship by merging traditional artisanal techniques with modern design practices. Participants will have the opportunity to incorporate Swarovski Reignited Crystals, reflecting a shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the preservation of cultural identity.

The competition has been developed to empower local creative talent while encouraging participants to draw inspiration from traditional Saudi crafts and transform them into contemporary designs that resonate with global audiences. Through a comprehensive educational journey, participants will gain direct access to industry experts, designers, and heritage specialists, equipping them with the technical and creative skills needed to elevate their work, SPA reported.

The program includes a series of in-person workshops in Riyadh, covering jewelry design, heritage crafts, traditional embroidery, accessories, and contemporary applications of Saudi cultural elements. Participants will also receive virtual mentorship sessions with specialists from Art of Heritage and Swarovski, which will support them throughout the design development process before they present their final collections to an expert judging panel.

The program began its early stages this month, with workshops that commenced in early August. Finalists will develop their concepts over several weeks before presenting their completed designs during the final showcase in Riyadh in September 2026, where the winning designer will be announced.

Through this initiative, the Fashion Commission continues to strengthen the Kingdom’s creative ecosystem by preserving traditional craftsmanship, promoting sustainable design practices, and creating meaningful opportunities for emerging designers to innovate while celebrating Saudi cultural heritage.

This program is a continuation of the Fashion Commission’s efforts to support local talents and enable them through training and development programs that contribute to reviving Saudi heritage through creative designs that merge traditional elements with innovation.

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Culture

Red Sea Museum Concludes Six-Month 'Sunken Treasures' Exhibition

The galleries showcased underwater archaeological discoveries and Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to protect and document submerged cultural assets - SPA
The galleries showcased underwater archaeological discoveries and Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to protect and document submerged cultural assets - SPA
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Red Sea Museum Concludes Six-Month 'Sunken Treasures' Exhibition

The galleries showcased underwater archaeological discoveries and Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to protect and document submerged cultural assets - SPA
The galleries showcased underwater archaeological discoveries and Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to protect and document submerged cultural assets - SPA

The "Sunken Treasures: The Maritime Heritage of the Red Sea" exhibition concluded its six-month run at the Red Sea Museum in Historic Jeddah, offering visitors an educational journey into centuries of maritime trade, navigation, and pilgrimage.

Housed at the historic Bab Al-Bunt building since February 25, the exhibition highlighted the Red Sea's historical role as a vital trade artery connecting the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia.

Structured across four thematic zones, the galleries showcased underwater archaeological discoveries and Saudi Arabia's ongoing efforts to protect and document submerged cultural assets, SPA reported.

Among the exhibition's centerpiece displays was the 18th-century Umluj shipwreck, discovered submerged 20 to 22 meters deep amid coral reefs. Its recovered cargo—including commercial containers, pottery, coins, ceramics, and daily shipboard tools alongside antique navigational instruments and nautical maps—illustrated the vibrant human exchange that traversed regional waters.

Organized in collaboration with the Heritage Commission and the Historic Jeddah Program, the exhibition was also part of the summer season's cultural offerings, combining interactive public programming with scientific research to bolster cultural tourism and raise awareness of the Kingdom's underwater heritage.

Culture

Diriyah Art Futures Opens Second Edition of 'CONTINUUM' Exhibition

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) launched its latest exhibition CONTINUUM ’26 on Thursday, showcasing the works of its second cohort of emerging artists and the program’s mentors. (SPA)
Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) launched its latest exhibition CONTINUUM ’26 on Thursday, showcasing the works of its second cohort of emerging artists and the program’s mentors. (SPA)
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Diriyah Art Futures Opens Second Edition of 'CONTINUUM' Exhibition

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) launched its latest exhibition CONTINUUM ’26 on Thursday, showcasing the works of its second cohort of emerging artists and the program’s mentors. (SPA)
Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) launched its latest exhibition CONTINUUM ’26 on Thursday, showcasing the works of its second cohort of emerging artists and the program’s mentors. (SPA)

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), the first center for New Media Arts in the Middle East and North Africa, launched its latest exhibition CONTINUUM ’26 on Thursday, showcasing the works of its second cohort of emerging artists and the program’s mentors.

Visitors explored a diverse range of cutting-edge technological media, including immersive and multimedia installations, light, sound, moving image, virtual reality, mixed reality, and AI-generated projects, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

CONTINUUM ’26 features artworks produced by 16 emerging artists and two mentors during DAF’s year-long Emerging New Media Artists Program. Curated by Irini Papadimitriou and Bushra Alghamdi, Assistant Curator, the exhibition explores questions surrounding memory, identity, place, belonging, repetition, and interspecies relationships.

Developed under the mentorship of artists Louis-Philippe Demers and Rick Treweek, the artworks explore the boundaries between the real and the artificial, human and artificial intelligence, the organic and synthetic.

Speaking at the exhibition launch, CEO of the Museums Commission Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Hammad said: “Programs like the Emerging New Media Artists Program represent the long-term, deliberate investment needed to shape the future of the Kingdom's museum sector.

“By providing our artists with world-class facilities, mentorship, and the dedicated time to refine their craft, we are fueling innovation and sparking vital cultural conversations. CONTINUUM 26 brings a full year of that dedication into the public eye.”

The opening program kicked off with a panel conversation between exhibition artists Noel Apitta, Njood Albwardi, Badriya Alsalem, and Harpreet Sareen, in conversation with Bushra Alghamdi about the ideas behind their works in CONTINUUM '26.

The artists discussed the exhibition's themes – the power of artificial intelligence; memory and time; and embodied perception – exploring how each artist navigated their creative process and what questions drove them.

CONTINUUM ’26 is the second installment in a series of exhibitions at DAF, spotlighting diverse voices shaping the future of New Media Art in the region and beyond.

Developed in collaboration with Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains in France, the Emerging New Media Artists Program gives emerging artists access to cutting-edge professional equipment and a production budget, as well as a wide range of multidisciplinary learning opportunities.

CONTINUUM ’26 is open to the public at Diriyah Art Futures and runs until November 7. The exhibition is accompanied by a public program of workshops, talks and other activities spanning AI, VR, digital photography, and much more.

Meet the Artists: an invitation to encounter the works of CONTINUUM '26 through the perspectives of the artists who made them. Over the opening weekend, artists will discuss the ideas and processes behind their works with visitors.

Culture

US Hands Over Ancient Sarcophagus Fragments to Lebanon

This New York City Police Department photo shows one of three ancient sarcophagi fragments that the FBI Art Crime Team returned to the government of Lebanon during a September 2, 2026, ceremony in New York. (New York City Police Department)
This New York City Police Department photo shows one of three ancient sarcophagi fragments that the FBI Art Crime Team returned to the government of Lebanon during a September 2, 2026, ceremony in New York. (New York City Police Department)
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US Hands Over Ancient Sarcophagus Fragments to Lebanon

This New York City Police Department photo shows one of three ancient sarcophagi fragments that the FBI Art Crime Team returned to the government of Lebanon during a September 2, 2026, ceremony in New York. (New York City Police Department)
This New York City Police Department photo shows one of three ancient sarcophagi fragments that the FBI Art Crime Team returned to the government of Lebanon during a September 2, 2026, ceremony in New York. (New York City Police Department)

The United States on Thursday announced the return of Roman-era sarcophagus fragments to Lebanon that were looted from the southern city of Tyre and recovered by an FBI investigation.

The decorative, lead fragments were returned to the Lebanese consulate in New York on Wednesday, ahead of their repatriation, the US embassy in Lebanon said.

The recovery "reflects the strong US-Lebanon partnership in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property", the embassy said.

Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame said the fragments "were unearthed in the Tyre area during illegal excavations".

"The fragments bear distinctive artistic, decorative and technical characteristics typical of workshops that produced lead sarcophagus in Tyre, which were among the city's active and prolific workshops in antiquity."

According to the FBI, the antiquities "were stolen from illicit excavations in or around Tyre and were exported outside of Lebanon's borders".

The trade in looted antiquities is widespread in the Middle East. New York, one of the world's art capitals, is home to many wealthy collectors, galleries, and auction houses.

In December 2017, three ancient artifacts were returned to Lebanon, including a bull's head of Greek origin that had been exhibited at the Met Gala, valued at $1.2 million.

Salame said the Tyre region "is exceptionally rich in archaeological heritage" and "has recently suffered severe destruction" due to heavy Israeli strikes during the latest war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, added Tyre to its World Heritage in Danger list in July.