Fahad bin Naif has been announced as this year's winner of the Ithra Art Prize, now in its third year. The award is given in collaboration between the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra), the Aramco-sponsored cultural centre that has recently been built in the Eastern Provinces, and Art Dubai. It also carries with it a substantial award: $100,000 (Dh367,250) that goes towards the production of an artwork. The work debuts at Art Dubai in March and then enters the collection of Ithra in Dhahran. As it is designed to promote the Saudi art scene, the prize is only open to Saudi-born or -based artists.
Fahad bin Naif studied architecture at Central Saint Martins college in London and his work often intersects with urban design and architecture. For the Ithra Art Prize, he uses the idea of the greenhouse to think both about environmental sustainability in arid areas like the Gulf, where both local landscaping and agriculture rely heavily on plants that are not endemic to the region.
His installation, titled Rakhm ('incubation' in Arabic) will mimic existing agricultural nurseries that use polytunnels to incubate their plants, but will grow instead indigenous vegetation. Visitors will be prohibited from entering, underlining the alienation between local inhabitants and plant-life.
Bin Naif was chosen by a selection committee of Eiman Elgibreen, Maya El Khalil, Nada Shabout, Reem Fadda and Tarek Abou El Fetouh.
“The committee’s response to Fahad bin Naif’s work was enthusiastic, and we were touched by the contextualised thoughtfulness and interdisciplinary approach the artist has taken when developing his concept,” said Laila Faddagh, Head of Ithra Museums, in a statement.
The Ithara Art Prize’s two previous winners have been Ayman Zedani and Daniah Al Saleh. In testament to its growing profile, the organisers said that they received twice the number of applications for this year as for 2019’s edition.
"It is an honour and a privilege to have been by selected by the prestigious jury panel as the winner of the Ithra Art Prize 2020,” said Bin Naif in a statement. “This opportunity, as a Saudi artist and architect who is also quite invested in the cultural, social and urban fabric of our society, is deeply meaningful.”
