How Did the Ministry of Culture Support Contemporary Art in the Kingdom?

The Saudi Ministry of Culture launched an art exhibition titled 'Art Memento' in 2019, as a literary tribute to Saudi artists by showcasing their works previously featured in art exhibitions and competitions over the past five decades. The exhibition was organized by the General Presidency for Youth Welfare (previously) and was one of the responsibilities transferred to the Ministry of Culture after its establishment in 2019.

The exhibition did not just honor those artworks by showcasing and engaging with them; it also included various activities and seminars. The exhibition featured a main presentation of artworks documenting the Saudi visual art movement, alongside sub-presentations highlighting the latest selected artworks. Additionally, the 'Art Memento' exhibition hosted several speakers interested in the arts through weekly seminars open to the public. These art seminars included media dialogues discussing the features of Saudi visual arts from modern to contemporary.

The exhibition succeeded in realizing its fundamental concept by documenting and presenting the history of visual arts in the Kingdom to visitors. It showcased the artistic evolution journey undertaken by Saudi artists within the art triangle (shape, theme, ideas). Additionally, the exhibition celebrated the efforts of pioneering artists who laid the foundation for the contemporary Saudi art movement by presenting their works and artistic history to new generations of artists and audiences.

In an interactive context, the Ministry of Culture began organizing contemporary visual arts competitions in 2014 under the title 'Saudi Contemporary Art Exhibition.' It invited Saudi male and female artists to participate in the competition, which included several conditions, the most important of which was that the concept of the submitted work should be inspired by Arab and Islamic heritage. Artists were allowed to submit three artworks, with the longest side of each not exceeding 150 cm for paintings and one hundred cm for sculptures, including the base. For installations, only one work was allowed, with a display area not exceeding (two by two by two m). Additionally, participating works required originality and non-copying.