The 7Th Ithra Art Prize Goes To Aseel Alyaqoub

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an Aramco initiative, is proud to announce Aseel AlYaqoub as the recipient of the 7th Ithra Art Prize.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ The announcement was made during a ceremony held at Ithra in Dhahran, attended by a distinguished gathering of artists and cultural figures.

The Ithra Art Prize continues to nurture the region's artistic ecosystem, serving as a critical bridge between regional contemporary art and global cultural discourse.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ By providing both substantial financial support and institutional visibility, the Prize ensures that Arab voices remain central to the international conversation on contemporary art and cultural expression.

Supporting the Winner's Journey
As the winner, Aseel AlYaqoub receives a grant of USD 100,000 (376,000 SAR) to support her ongoing creative practice.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ AlYaqoub's winning piece, Flora Incognita (2026), will be acquired into Ithra's permanent collection, securing the artist's place within a prestigious institutional archive.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠

The 7th edition marks a strategic evolution in the program's format, expanding its scope to cultivate a broader network of talent.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ To foster a more inclusive creative dialogue, Ithra provided production grants to five shortlisted finalists, enabling them to develop ambitious works that reflect the complexities of the modern Arab experience.

Celebrating the Finalists

The winning work is the centerpiece of a wider exhibition at the Ithra Museum, which also features the exceptional contributions of the other finalists:

Aseel AlYaqoub (Kuwait): Flora Incognita (2026) – A botanical herbarium of hybrid desert plants examining how classification systems shaped and reshaped knowledge of the Gulf. Bady Dalloul (Syria): Matchboxes Drawings (2026) – A series of miniature works exploring the role of imagery in shaping lived history and collective memory. Heba Y.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ Amin Elmahamly (Egypt): The Last Carrier: Iteration I (2026) – A textile-based reinterpretation of an 18th-century depiction of the Egyptian“Mahmal” procession. Ala Younis (Jordan): Lifted Arches (2026) – An installation exploring light, modularity, and the dialogue between Islamic architectural traditions and modernism. Jawad Al Malhi (Palestine): Ashes of Absence (2026) – A multimedia series of ghostly figures exploring disappearance, loss, and the fragility of presence.

The winner was selected by an esteemed international jury consisting of Farah Abushullaih, Tarek Abou El Fetouh, Dr.⁠‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​⁠ Nada Shabout, Jérôme Sans, and Nadia Kaabi-Linke.

The exhibition remains open to the public until March 2027. For more information, please visit .

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