Saudi cultural sector moves ‘from start up to stand up’: Vice Minister

The Saudi cultural sector is moving from ‘start up to stand up’ as it enters a new phase of growth, according to Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Culture, His Excellency Hamed bin Mohammed Fayez.

The Vice Minister made his remarks during a panel discussion on ‘The Metamorphoses of Culture and Art’ at the 6th Edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference held in Riyadh, where he described how Saudi Arabia’s cultural industries are becoming a definitive driver of the Kingdom’s social and economic transformation.

During the session, the Vice Minister detailed the profound extent to which the Saudi National Culture Strategy is succeeding in achieving its goals, noting that the Kingdom’s cultural industries are continually generating unprecedented opportunities and positively impacting the lives of Saudis and people beyond.

Explaining recent progress, His Excellency said, “[We have increased] the scale and pace of our investment and funding activity to an unprecedented level and our National Cultural Investment Strategy has identified SAR 2.5bn worth of opportunities over the next few years.

“Only this year, SAR 180m of cultural grants have been committed – with a further SAR 1bn of demand in the pipeline. [We have also] come up with programs such as incubators, residencies and scholarships […] to support and enable creatives and practitioners to build their businesses based on solid foundations. In a nutshell, we’ve gone from start up to stand up and we’re leaving no stone unturned.”

The early success of the National Culture Strategy, which was launched in 2019, has resulted in the strategy undergoing a refresh, His Excellency confirmed. The Ministry of Culture is pursuing more ambitious sector growth targets as well as updating its approach to the strategy’s execution to capture further opportunities engendered by Saudi Arabia’s strong economic growth.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Culture revealed that the number of cultural enterprises in Saudi Arabia had increased to 36,000 across 16 cultural sectors in 2021. Further milestones have also been realized including the registration of 2,700 archaeological sites in the Kingdom’s archives, the roll out of a film incentive program with 40 per cent rebates for film producers and the provision of over 700 cultural scholarships.

His Excellency was joined on the panel by senior leaders of prominent cultural institutions, including CEO of Sotheby’s, Charles F. Stewart, and Irina Bokova, the former Director-General of UNESCO, who remarked that the Kingdom had become “such a vibrant cultural hub” providing increasing opportunities to young people and creators.

The 6th Edition of the Future Investment Initiative convenes the world’s leading policy makers, CEOs. Investors, entrepreneurs, and young leaders in Riyadh to shape the future of international investment and the global economy.