National Cultural Awards

The National Cultural Awards are annual awards given to Saudi citizens and active Saudi institutions that achieve excellence in fourteen cultural and artistic tracks. They were launched by the Ministry of Culture in June 2020, in their first edition. The number of tracks increased to sixteen in the third edition. Winners of the awards receive financial and moral support to enhance their activities, as well as honorary representation in one of the cultural sectors at events and occasions held during the year they won.

The Saudi National Cultural Awards included fourteen tracks in the first edition, which are: Cultural Personality of the Year Award, which is awarded to a Saudi figure with a prominent cultural role, contributing to a clear cultural movement; Youth Culture Award, which is awarded to citizens aged between twenty-one and forty, who have made a prominent cultural achievement during the two years prior to the launch of the award; Cultural Institutions Award; Film Award; Fashion Award; Music Award; National Heritage Award; Literature Award; Theater and Performing Arts Award; Visual Arts Award; Architecture and Design Award; Culinary Arts Award; Publishing Award; Translation Award.

Then, the number of tracks of the National Cultural Awards increased to sixteen tracks. The third edition of the awards witnessed the establishment of a new award called the "Businessmen and Women Award," to honor women and businessmen who support cultural activities and highlight their role in the development of Saudi cultural production. Additionally, the "International Cultural Excellence Award" was introduced to celebrate figures and institutions in the global and regional cultural sectors that have had a significant impact in any of the sixteen cultural fields.

The cultural awards are granted based on several criteria, including: high quality in accordance with international standards, authenticity by linking the work to Saudi culture, dissemination among individuals and their impact, non-conflict of content with religious principles, customs, traditions, and general manners, non-violation of intellectual property rights, dissemination among the audience outside the Kingdom, and contribution to highlighting Saudi culture globally.

Candidates for the award must be twenty-one years old or above, and both individual and institutional candidates must be Saudi, except in cases where a foreign institution has contributed to the Saudi cultural sector. Nominations from outside the designated location for submissions are not accepted.

The nomination process for individuals and institutions is done through the electronic platform of the awards. For institutions, nominations can be submitted by the institution or company itself, by other institutions, by specialized committees in the Ministry of Culture, or by the general public. Individuals can be nominated for the awards by themselves, by intellectuals and creators in the Kingdom, or by specialized committees within the Ministry of Culture.