ithra design week takes center stage from 2026
The eighth edition of Tanween, Ithra’s event celebrating design, wrapped up at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran on November 22, 2025, closing six days of exhibitions, hackathons, talks, and guided tours which explored the concept of ‘Design the Unspoken.’ Hosted from November 17–22, the annual design event gathered designers, educators, and creatives from across Saudi Arabia and the globe, with contributions from Snøhetta, Isola Design Group, Iwan Maktabi, BrickLab, Rizo Masr, eL Seed, Saudi designer Lujain Abulfaraj and many more.
During the closing ceremony, Ithra Programs Manager Noura Al-Zamil announced the most significant development yet: from 2026, Tanween will return and expand as Ithra Design Week, marking a new chapter for the center’s role in the regional and international design landscape.
Ithra announces Tanween will return in 2026 as Ithra Design Week, marking the event’s growing role in the design ecosystem | all images courtesy of Ithra
the RETURN that extends beyond ithra’s walls
The 8th edition confirmed why Tanween has become Ithra’s flagship design platform. Over six days, the event delivered over eight exhibitions, seven hands-on workshops, 10 panel discussions, four design hackathons as part of Tanween Challenges, walk-in activities, guided city tours, and the Tanween Design Market. Ithra’s celebration of design invited participants to look beyond obvious briefs and address unarticulated needs, behaviors, and social shifts.
The shift to Ithra Design Week signals a structural evolution: design activity will be integrated across the museum, library, cinema, Ithra’s space for creativity and innovation, and more, while new initiatives will extend beyond Ithra’s walls to activate public spaces across the Eastern Province and deepen connections with both local and international creative communities.
Ithra Programs Manager Noura Al-Zamil announces the most significant development yet: from 2026, Ithra’s Tanween will be expanded as Ithra Design Week
tanween’s six days of HIGHLIGHTS
The fast-paced design hackathon, known as Tanween Challenges, formed the core of this year’s program, inviting designers to develop solutions for communities underserved by design. The Global Impact Challenge, one of the tracks in the program supported by Production Partners UNESCO and RCQE, was awarded to Walaa Sharaf, Arwa Omar, Farah Alkurdi, Maryam Alkhateeb and Zaina Mayet. The Product Design Challenge recognized Meryam AlQarah, Redah Alali, Fatimah Bazroon and Abdullah Aldohailan, while the Urban Spaces Challenge selected Sara Alhothali, Saif Alnuimi, Aleksandra Tadel, Abdulrahman Alshehri and Naif Alajaji.
Winners of the Visual Communication Challenge included Rahaf Qurashi, Mohammed Altohami, Raneem Al-Raddadi, Zaid Sbeitan and Abrar Abusham. Their prototypes will move into further development and will be showcased as part of the inaugural Ithra Design Week in 2026. Two pavilions developed through this year’s hackathons will also be permanently installed in Khobar parks in collaboration with the Alfozan Social Foundation, extending Tanween’s impact into public life.
Tanween concludes after six days of 7 hands-on workshops, 10 panel discussions, over 8 exhibitions, 4 design hackathons and more
Additionally, a highlight of the Tanween Majlis – Tanween’s dynamic talks program – brought together leaders of international design weeks to discuss how such platforms shape public culture and creative industries. Speakers included Natasha Carella, Director of Dubai Design Week; Gabriele Cavallaro, CEO and Co-Founder of Isola Design Group; Fahad Al Obeidy, Director of Design Doha Biennial; and Bisher Tabbaa, Co-Director of Amman Design Week. Moderated by Tanween Lead Shahad Alwazani, the conversation underscored Tanween’s role as a meeting point for practices across the Arab world and as a catalyst for deeper regional collaboration.
Reflecting this expanding network, Tanween’s 8th edition welcomed Dubai Design Week and Isola Design Group as creative partners, with Gulf International Bank joining as a strategic partner, Retal and the Architecture and Design Commission as signature partners, and Iwan Maktabi, Bricklab, Rizomasr and Mujassam Watan serving as official exhibition partners. This collaborative framework will continue to drive the new Ithra Design Week, presenting it as a platform where designers, studios and institutions can co-create across disciplines and geographies.
Ithra design week will integrate design across Ithra facilities, including the museum, library, cinema, Ithra’s space for creativity and innovation, and more
During the closing ceremony, Ithra Programs Manager Noura Al-Zamil emphasized the significance of the transition: ‘After eight years of Tanween, Ithra Design Week represents a new chapter in fostering creativity and collaboration—bringing together designers, communities, and ideas to expand our impact across Saudi Arabia and beyond.’
As Tanween closes its final edition under its original name, it leaves behind a legacy shaped by eight themes: Disruption, Play, The New Next, Tools, Collaboration, Scale, Fail Forward, and Design the Unspoken. Together, they form the foundation for Ithra Design Week, a renewed platform where design, culture and learning converge, and where the creative community will continue to grow in scale, ambition and impact.
the platform will also grow beyond Ithra’s walls to activate public spaces across the Eastern Province and connect local and global creative communities
as Tanween concludes, it leaves behind a foundation of ideas, relationships, and outcomes nurtured across its eight previous editions
project info:
dates: 17-22 November, 2025
location: 8386 Ring Rd, Gharb Al Dhahran, Dhahran 34461
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