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Ithra Showcases Ithra Design Week at Milan Design Week 2026

Ithra Showcases Ithra Design Week at Milan Design Week 2026
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Ithra Showcases Ithra Design Week at Milan Design Week 2026

Ithra Showcases Ithra Design Week at Milan Design Week 2026

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative of Aramco, is participating in Milan Design Week, one of the world’s most prominent annual design events, taking place during April 20-26, 2026. This participation reflects the center’s aspirations to strengthen the role of design within the cultural landscape. As part of its presence, Ithra is presenting key features of Ithra Design Week (IDW)—announced last year as a dedicated platform supporting the design sector and designers, aimed at fostering collaboration, nurturing creativity, and advancing design content from the Arab world on the global stage.

As part of its participation, Ithra is presenting the exhibition “Default is Not Universal” at the Isola Design Festival, within the framework of Milan Design Week 2026. The exhibition represents the first tangible realization of Ithra Design Week as a regional platform for designers, showcasing their creativity and cultural narratives to international audiences while opening channels for global dialogue on the future of design, SPA reported.

Manager of Programs at Ithra Nourh Al-Zamil said: “Ithra’s participation in Milan Design Week; one of the most important global events in the field of design, reflects the Center’s mission to empower creative talent, strengthen cultural exchange, and support the growth of the creative economy at both regional and international levels. It also highlights Ithra Design Week 2026, that announced last year as a platform dedicated to supporting and advancing the future of Arab design.”

Al-Zamil added that Ithra’s international participation in leading design and creativity forums serves as an important platform for attracting designers from across the Middle East. She noted that the “Default is Not Universal” exhibition, presented in collaboration with Isola Design; a partnership spanning four years; aims to empower creativity and connect designers from around the world. She emphasized that the exhibition reflects Ithra’s continued efforts to build a year-round integrated ecosystem enabling designers to collaborate, grow, and thrive.

The “Default is Not Universal” exhibition features works by eight designers from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and includes seven interactive stations. Through the use of artificial intelligence, the exhibition collects visitor interaction data and transforms it into a dynamic map illustrating how cognitive patterns are shaped by diverse cultural influences. In an innovative step, this data will later be used to commission a designer to produce an entirely new piece reflecting the exhibition’s insights and outcomes.

The exhibition represents a collaborative experience between Ithra and Isola Design and is the outcome of a four-year partnership. Following its debut, the exhibition will be expanded and travel to Saudi Arabia, where it will serve as the anchor international exhibition of the main Ithra Design Week event scheduled to take place later this year.

The exhibition’s seven interactive stations include “The Collective Sofa,” a white seating installation by Studio Oblique (UAE) that transforms through visitor interaction into a shared archive reflecting their contributions; “Moments of Absence,” a sculptural installation featuring miniature ceramic chairs by Fajr Al-Basri (Bahrain) that invites visitors to select and sketch the chair they most identify with; and “Body Blocks,” an interactive game by Davina Atteya (Lebanon) inspired by Mesopotamian figurative forms, enabling users to assemble hybrid characters through modular components.

Additional stations include “Attar Al-Balad,” a sensory installation composed of sculptural blocks formed from traditional Saudi herbs and spices that re-evokes memory through scent; “Reflections,” a collection of mirrors by designers from Egypt, the UAE, and Morocco exploring visitors’ perceptions of color, form, and identity; “Majma,” an interactive musical instrument by digital artist Samit Rohila enabling visitors to collaboratively compose spontaneous collective soundscapes; and finally “Daughters of Berythus,” an installation embedding traces of craft traditions and everyday life that invites visitors to explore material memory through touch.

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Culture

Archaeologists Find Huge Viking Textile Production Site in Denmark

Moesgaard Museum archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg holds a Viking Age weight loom unearthed in Aarhus, Denmark, on June 22, 2026. (AP)
Moesgaard Museum archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg holds a Viking Age weight loom unearthed in Aarhus, Denmark, on June 22, 2026. (AP)
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Archaeologists Find Huge Viking Textile Production Site in Denmark

Moesgaard Museum archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg holds a Viking Age weight loom unearthed in Aarhus, Denmark, on June 22, 2026. (AP)
Moesgaard Museum archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg holds a Viking Age weight loom unearthed in Aarhus, Denmark, on June 22, 2026. (AP)

Archaeologists have discovered a huge Viking Age textile production site in Denmark that dates back more than 1,000 years and underlines the sophistication of Viking society.

Experts from the Moesgaard Museum said this week that the sprawling 100,000-square-meter (more than 1 million-square-foot) site features an area for processing flax as well as more than 80 pit houses — semi-submerged huts that were used as workshops and dwellings in Viking times.

It's located in Søften, 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, on the Jutland peninsula. The site dates back to the late Iron Age and early Viking Age, sometime between A.D. 600 and 950.

Archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, who led the 10-month dig, said that “we have a clear focus on textile production, which makes this settlement different from other kinds of settlements of this period.”

“We have spindle whorls, we have weight looms; that tells us about what has been going on in the pit houses,” said Reher-Langberg, adding that archaeologists had also discovered silver coins, glass beads and pottery.

Experts found separate areas for production and crafts, plus a single residential home, which suggests work was overseen by a powerful individual with control over resources and production.

Reher-Langberg said that, over the last three decades, people with metal detectors had unearthed several silver coins in the area. A trial excavation 1½ years ago, before the start of construction work on a new road and industrial area, then piqued archaeologists’ interest.

“We could see in the trenches that it just keeps on going, with these houses and pit houses and textile production features,” Reher-Langberg said.

Moesgaard Museum historian Kasper Andersen said that the discovery at Søften is “another piece in the puzzle” to understanding the local economic, cultural and political structure at the time.

During the Viking era, Aarhus — then known as Aros — functioned as a center for royalty and international trade. And last year, archaeologists discovered another Viking site in Lisbjerg, just 4 kilometers (2½ miles) away, that was likely home to members of the nobility.

Goods and resources were likely brought from the countryside and settlements like Søften, before entering an extensive international trade network, Andersen said.

“When you have a production site of this scale, it cannot be only because of the local area. It needs to be understood as part of a greater network, a much bigger international perspective,” Andersen said.

Reher-Langberg hopes future carbon dating and pollen analysis might answer some lingering questions, for instance about what kind of textile production went on at the site.

During the Viking Age, considered to run from A.D. 793 to 1066, Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raids, colonization, conquest and trade throughout Europe, even reaching North America.

Andersen said that the discovery at Søften shows that Vikings were “not just simple, uncivilized, barbaric hordes, rambling about Europe.”

“To have a place like Søften, you need a very well-organized society with a production line, and you also need a market to have the production,” he said. “The textiles from Søften go into a market that’s much bigger than just the local area.”

Culture

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Visits Ameen Rihani Museum

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd Al-Dosari is seen during his visit to the museum. (SPA)
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd Al-Dosari is seen during his visit to the museum. (SPA)
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Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Visits Ameen Rihani Museum

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd Al-Dosari is seen during his visit to the museum. (SPA)
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd Al-Dosari is seen during his visit to the museum. (SPA)

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd Al-Dosari visited on Monday the Ameen Rihani Museum in the town of Freike in Matn District, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

The ambassador was received by members of the Rihani family, led by the museum's curator, Ameen Albert Rihani, who welcomed him and praised the historic relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

They recalled the historic meeting between King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and Lebanese writer and historian Ameen Rihani in 1922.

During the visit, Al-Dosari toured the museum's historical and literary sections and viewed the exhibition marking the centenary of the book “Rihaniyyat”.

Culture

On World Camel Day, Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Celebrates Camel Heritage and Reinforces Its Cultural Identity

In Saudi Arabia, the relationship with camels extends beyond traditional heritage to form an integral part of national identity and collective memory. (SPA)
In Saudi Arabia, the relationship with camels extends beyond traditional heritage to form an integral part of national identity and collective memory. (SPA)
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On World Camel Day, Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Celebrates Camel Heritage and Reinforces Its Cultural Identity

In Saudi Arabia, the relationship with camels extends beyond traditional heritage to form an integral part of national identity and collective memory. (SPA)
In Saudi Arabia, the relationship with camels extends beyond traditional heritage to form an integral part of national identity and collective memory. (SPA)

World Camel Day, observed annually on June 22, serves as a global occasion to reflect on the enduring relationship between humans and camels throughout history.

The day highlights camels' economic contributions, their role in supporting food security and sustainable development, and their cultural significance, which extends beyond geographical boundaries and has made them a deeply rooted symbol in the collective memory of peoples worldwide, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Monday.

In Saudi Arabia, the relationship with camels extends beyond traditional heritage to form an integral part of national identity and collective memory. This is reflected in the significant attention devoted to the sector through specialized initiatives and events, support for camel owners, and efforts to preserve and sustain this heritage as one of the Kingdom's most prominent cultural assets.

Across AlUla, rock art and inscriptions dating back thousands of years tell the story of the close relationship between humans and camels. (SPA)

Across AlUla, rock art and inscriptions dating back thousands of years tell the story of the close relationship between humans and camels. These animals contributed to the prosperity of trade routes, facilitated mobility, and supported the stability of successive communities.

Camels remain an essential part of AlUla's heritage and a testament to the deep connection between people and their environment since ancient times.

Today, camels in AlUla are more than witnesses to history. They are an integral part of the region's cultural and sporting landscape and a key element of the tourism experience offered by the land of civilizations.

Through a contemporary vision that combines the authenticity of history with the aspirations of the future, AlUla continues to showcase this rich heritage, ensuring that camels remain among the most enduring symbols in the story of people and place across generations.