Jeddah's Red Sea Museum announced the launch of its public program for January 2026, featuring a series of artistic workshops, cultural talks, live performances, and family activities. The program aims to connect the Red Sea's cultural heritage with contemporary creative practices, catering to various segments of society.
The program's themes span traditional architecture, historical photography, music, travel literature, and the history of navigation and public health in the Red Sea. These activities are presented through a cultural and educational agenda held across the museum's facilities and venues in Historic Jeddah.
The program begins on Tuesday, with a workshop titled "Junior Cartographers" in the Discovery Room, where children aged 6 to 12 will explore the art of mapmaking and the fundamentals of navigation through an engaging, interactive approach. On January 15, the "Alchemy of Light: Albumen Prints" workshop will be held at the auditorium, highlighting the historical albumen printing technique using egg whites and silver salts, and exploring 19th-century photography aesthetics through a contemporary perspective.
On January 17, a talk about Historic Jeddah will discuss traditional architecture and its relationship to heritage and modernity. This will be followed on January 18, by the "Navigation from Past to Present" workshop at the auditorium, offering an interactive experience that explores the evolution of navigation methods through hands-on artistic and practical activities.
On January 22, the program includes the screening of the animated film "The Menace from Above" at the auditorium. Later that evening, Bab Al-Bunt Courtyard will host the Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra, the world's only musical ensemble composed entirely of blind female musicians who perform using Braille musical notation, in a performance celebrating art, resilience, and diversity.
On January 23, an artist talk titled "The Gate of Gates" will be held in Historic Jeddah, documenting the transformations of the Bab Al-Bunt building and the human stories connected to this historic space. On January 28, the auditorium will host a talk titled "Encounters: Travel Literature," exploring journeys to Andalusia and Sicily and how Islamic heritage continues to live on through people and places.
The program concludes on January 31, with a lecture examining the development of quarantine systems and public health monitoring in the Red Sea, highlighting the historical role of Bab Al-Bunt as a quarantine center for pilgrims.
The Red Sea Museum's activities serve as a cultural and knowledge platform dedicated to documenting the Red Sea's tangible, intangible, and natural heritage, and presenting it through educational and interactive programs that foster dialogue between the past and the present, linking heritage with contemporary creative contexts from its headquarters in Historic Jeddah.