DUBAI: In honor of World Art Day — celebrated on April 15 — Saudi Arabia’s Princess Lamia bint Majed Al-Saud, secretary-general and member of the Board of Trustees at Alwaleed Philanthropies, shared her view on how art and creativity have “the power to shape our future; whether social, cultural, or economic.”
In an article she wrote, published on Vogue Arabia on Thursday, the daughter of Prince Majed bin Saud, son of King Saud bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, said: “Art is central, not peripheral, to social change.”
“Art, in all of its forms, enhances cultural understanding while addressing social issues, increasing economic opportunities, and contributing to a more tolerant, prosperous world,” she said. “Today, on the occasion of World Art Day, we celebrate art as a veritable catalyst for social action, one that continues to facilitate local action and broader social change.”
She penned the article as Saudi Arabia’s art scene continues to grow with the successful participation of Saudi galleries at Art Dubai 2021 and a slew of local art fairs and initiatives by the Misk Art Foundation.
The princess also discussed the goals of Alwaleed Philanthropies — a charitable organization, chaired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, which collaborates with a range of philanthropic, governmental and educational institutions to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding through education.
Princess Lamia said: “We understand the important role that the creative industries play in meeting the sustainable development agenda…We believe that art inspires feeling and emotion while providing a window through which people can explore different perspectives.”
The princess added that through the organization’s partnership with the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Alwaleed Philanthropies has built the Islamic Learning Centers, donating $26 million to provide that window.
“We enable people to peer into the deep history and culture of the Islamic world, a realm that has been historically overlooked,” she explained.
For four decades, Alwaleed Philanthropies has supported and spent more than $4 billion on social welfare, initiating over 1,000 projects in 189 countries, managed by 10 Saudi female members and reaching more than 1 billion beneficiaries around the world.
