Visual Arts Award

The Visual Arts Award is an annual Saudi national cultural award that honors Saudi artists in the visual arts sector. It was announced by the Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah Bin Farhan Al Saud in 2019, as part of the National Culture Awards initiative sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. Its inaugural edition was launched in 2021.

The award aims to honor Saudi individuals who have contributed to the visual arts sector, offer Saudis the chance to represent the Saudi identity in local and international art exhibitions, and encourage the spirit of creativity and innovation. Nominations can be submitted through the electronic platform directly by the participants, whether individuals or groups, other parties, or specialized committees from the Ministry of Culture.

To be eligible for nomination, the candidate must be no less than twenty-one years of age, hold a Saudi nationality, or be a son/daughter of a Saudi woman. Moreover, the information submitted for nomination must be correct and complete. The candidate should have total ownership of all the public and intellectual rights for the submitted content, or at least partial ownership that enables the candidate to apply with the approval of the other parties, in addition to submitting the necessary documents to prove the partners' consent to the nomination. All submitted works must have been implemented during the five years prior to the nomination date. The conditions also specify that the submitted content should not contradict the principles of Islamic Sharia law, customs, traditions, and public morals.

The awards for the inaugural edition of the Visual Arts Award were distributed as follows: Lulwa Abdul Razzaq Al-Hamoud won first place, Dana Abdulrahim Awartani came in second, and Ahmed Sami Angawi in third. As for the second edition, the award was given to Muhannad Shono.