The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) concluded the eighth edition of its annual flagship design event, Tanween, with a major announcement that marks a new chapter for design at Ithra: after eight years as Tanween, Ithra's annual flagship design event will return in 2026 as Ithra Design Week.

Across Tanween's six days of 7 hands-on workshops, 10 panel discussions, 8 exhibitions, 4 design hackathons and more, the eighth and final edition seeded the event's evolution into Ithra Design Week launching in 2026, extending Tanween's purpose while broadening its scale. The platform will integrate design across all Ithra facilities, including the museum, library, cinema, publishing programs, and the IdeaLab. It will also grow beyond Ithra's walls to activate public spaces across the Eastern Province and connect local and global creative communities. This was introduced this year with guided tours developed with the Municipality of Khobar that connected visitors to public art, architectural landmarks, and design-led urban spaces.

Two pavilions from the Tanween Challenges will be permanently installed in Khobar parks through a collaboration with the Alfozan Social Foundation, creating visible, lasting outcomes for the community.

A highlight panel discussion of the Tanween Majlis – a dynamic series of talks featuring a diverse range of design experts – brought together international design week leaders to explore how design weeks shape public life, the creative industries, and cultural development. The panel featured Natasha Carella, Director of Dubai Design Week; Gabriele Cavallaro, CEO and Co-Founder of Isola Design Group; Fahad Al Obeidy, Director of Design Doha Biennial; and Bisher Tabbaa, co-Director of Amman Design Week. Moderated by Shahad Alwazani, Tanween Program Lead, their discussion pointed to Tanween's important contribution, providing a shared stage for diverse practices from across the Arab world to intersect with Saudi Arabia's growing design landscape.

Also signaling the shift to Ithra Design Week, this edition of Tanween welcomed two creative partners, Dubai Design Week and Isola Design Group; Gulf International Bank (GIB) joined as a strategic partner, Retal and Architecture and Design Commission as Signature Partners, as well as four official exhibition partners, such as Iwan Maktabi, Bricklab, Rizomasr, and Mujassam Watan, while Almajdouie (GENESIS) joined as a logistic partner. This approach reflects Ithra's work towards strengthening its international design network and enabling creators to work within a larger shared platform, and will continue to be a feature of Ithra Design Week.

During the closing ceremony, Ithra announced the winners of this year's Tanween Challenges, which invited designers to address practical needs under the theme Design for the 90 percent. The winning projects will continue into further development and contribute to the first edition of Ithra Design Week.

• Global Impact Challenge: Walaa Sharaf, Arwa Omar, Farah Alkurdi, Maryam Alkhateeb, Zaina Mayet
• Product Design Challenge: Meryam AlQarah, Redah Alali, Fatimah Bazroon, Abdullah Aldohailan
• Urban Spaces Challenge: Sara Alhothali, Saif Alnuimi, Aleksandra, Abdulrahman Alshehri, Naif Alajaji
• Visual Communication Challenge: Rahaf Qurashi, Mohammed Altohami, Raneem Al-Raddadi, Zaid Sbeitan, Abrar Abusham

At the Tanween eighth edition closing ceremony, Noura Al Zamil, Ithra's Programs Manager, commented on the transition to Ithra Design Week:“After eight years of Tanween, Ithra Design Week represents a new chapter in fostering creativity and collaboration-bringing together designers, communities, and ideas to expand our impact across Saudi Arabia and beyond.”

As Tanween concludes, it leaves behind a foundation of ideas, relationships, and outcomes nurtured across its eight previous editions, themed: Disruption (2018), Play (2019), The New Next (2020), Tools (2021), Collaboration (2022), Scale (2023), Fail Forward (2024), Design the Unspoken (2025). These serve as the starting point for Ithra Design Week, a new platform that will continue to enable talent and support creative exchange at Ithra, where design, culture, and learning come together.

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