Art and Diplomacy: Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Renaissance in the Era of Vision 2030

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Creative industries and states serve the wider social purposes of contributing to creative development and promoting the exchange of ideas, practices, and approaches to artistic endeavors—as well as providing a new lens through which to explore identity, cooperation and often overlapping histories and storytelling. Investing in cultural diplomacy can foster mutual understanding between states. In turn, deepened relations may increase economic output and facilitate further diplomatic engagement in other areas. Above all, governments may harness art, in all its forms, to promote their national interests. Traditionally, divisions within the industry and neglect of art’s value and wide-reaching impact has hindered the industry’s ability to unlock its economic and diplomatic potential. However, Gulf states like Saudi Arabia have come to recognize the impact that art can have on international perceptions.

Saudi Arabia’s attempts to rebrand its national identity on the global stage and transform its economy follow from the ambitious objectives of the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 initiative. Vision 2030 advocates for the Kingdom to develop its creative industries and invest in the infrastructure required to host creatives and industry-wide events at home. The government’s push to promote art collection among its young population, open various new museums across the Kingdom, and establish and expand a Ministry of Culture attest to this commitment. However, Vision 2030 runs into a major obstacle: Riyadh’s commitment to engaging youth and investing in its creative industries is severely top-heavy in that it relies almost exclusively on government led initiatives. Indeed, the nation finds itself over reliant on public funding for the arts, and a centralized, government-led approach is unlikely to stimulate the country’s cultural output. In order to foster a sustainable and mature art industry, Saudi Arabia’s focus should shift toward investing in youth education to ensure that art consumption and collection is promoted organically among the Saudi public. The nation should also create exchanges of Saudi artists abroad to promote the national brand. Finally, it should curate its domestic art industry to serve as a vehicle for regional collaboration that celebrates and popularizes Arab and Islamic art. While a healthy cultural industry contributes job opportunities and a higher GDP—in addition to stimulating a source of non-oil economic benefit, a major objective of Vision 2030—the long term gains are priceless. Cele- brating Saudi, Arab, and Islamic art will strengthen Saudi Arabia’s cultural diplomacy efforts and awareness of its national brand, both regionally and globally.

This report is a product of the inaugural Gulf Studies Symposium. The Gulf Studies Symposium (GSS) stands as an annual gathering committed to advancing the depth of knowledge about the Gulf region. Our overarching mission revolves around the promotion of high-caliber scholarship and the facilitation of insightful analysis. We achieve this by meticulously orchestrating a series of workshops, with the ultimate aim of bringing forth publications that contribute to the academic discourse on the Gulf.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gulf International Forum.