The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) has revealed the five shortlisted artists for the 7th edition of the Ithra Art Prize, reaffirming its position as one of the most influential platforms for contemporary art in the Arab world.
More than just an award, the Ithra Art Prize has become a cultural barometer — reflecting how artists from the region respond to questions of identity, memory, politics, and belonging in an increasingly complex global landscape.
Selected from over 500 submissions, the 2026 shortlist brings together five artists whose practices span research-based installations, moving image, archival storytelling, and conceptual experimentation:
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Aseel AlYaqoub (Kuwait)
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Bady Dalloul (Syria)
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Heba Y. Amin (Egypt)
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Ala Younis (Jordan)
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Jawad Al Malhi (Palestine)
Together, they represent a generation of artists working beyond traditional mediums, using art as a tool for critical reflection and cultural dialogue.
A New Chapter for the Prize
For the first time in the Prize’s history, all five shortlisted artists will receive production grants, enabling them to develop new commissioned works specifically for Ithra. These works will be unveiled in a dedicated exhibition in Dhahran in spring 2026, marking the Prize’s symbolic return to its home after touring international cultural hubs such as Dubai, AlUla, and Riyadh.
This shift signals an important evolution: from competition to collective production, where the emphasis moves from a single winner to the wider ecosystem of artistic creation.
Art as Research, Not Decoration
What distinguishes the Ithra Art Prize is its commitment to process-driven art. The shortlisted artists are not simply producing objects, but constructing narratives around archives, forgotten histories, geopolitical structures, and speculative futures.
From Ala Younis’s engagement with political memory, to Heba Y. Amin’s work on media and power, and Jawad Al Malhi’s exploration of displacement and identity, the exhibition promises to be less about spectacle and more about thinking through art.
Why Ithra Matters
In a region where institutional support for experimental art is still developing, Ithra plays a crucial role. It offers artists not just visibility, but time, resources, and intellectual space to create ambitious works that might not survive within commercial gallery systems.
The Ithra Art Prize is no longer just an award — it is a cultural infrastructure, shaping how Arab contemporary art is produced, exhibited, and understood on a global scale.
As the 2026 edition unfolds, these five artists are not only competing for a prize — they are collectively redefining what it means to make art in, from, and about the Middle East today.
