Ithra hosts Tanween design festival exploring empathy and creativity.

2 hours ago7 min read

In a move that feels less like a conventional design festival and more like a masterclass in human-centered innovation, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is once again preparing to host its annual Tanween design festival, with the 2025 edition themed ‘The Unspoken’. This isn't just another event on the global design calendar; it’s a deliberate and profound exploration into the very fabric of empathy, positioning Saudi Arabia not merely as a participant in the creative conversation but as its burgeoning epicenter.Imagine a design process not starting with a sketch or a 3D model, but with a deep, almost visceral, understanding of human emotion—this is the frontier Tanween is charting. The ‘The Unspoken’ theme challenges creators to decode the subtle languages of gesture, silence, and shared experience, translating these intangible qualities into tangible products, spaces, and systems that resonate on a fundamentally human level.It’s the design equivalent of a perfectly calibrated user interface that you intuitively understand without a manual, or a public space that somehow feels both communal and intimately personal. For the Kingdom, this focus is a strategic masterstroke, aligning perfectly with the ambitious goals of Vision 2030 to diversify its economy and cultivate a vibrant, knowledge-based society.By championing empathy, Ithra is fostering a design ethos that prioritizes social cohesion and cultural sensitivity, moving beyond the sleek minimalism of the West or the ornate traditions of the East to forge a uniquely Saudi design identity that is globally relevant. We can expect to see installations that respond to biometric data, workshops on co-design with local communities, and talks that dissect the neuroscience of connection, all set within Ithra’s own architecturally stunning facility—a symbol of this cultural metamorphosis. This eighth edition of Tanween is therefore more than a celebration; it's a declaration that the future of creativity is not just smart, but deeply felt, and Saudi Arabia is deftly positioning itself as the studio where that future is being prototyped.

#featured

#Tanween

#design festival

#Ithra

#Saudi Arabia

#creativity

#empathy

#cultural hub

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