Rooted in warmth
Raghad Al Ahmad
Plaza de la Diversidad
2025
The installation, Rooted in Warmth, is an immersive experience celebrating the bond between agriculture, family, and place. Inspired by Raghad Al-Ahmed’s childhood in the mountainous farmlands of Taif — where communal life unfolded under the trees — the work reimagines those gatherings through a sculptural landscape. The installation features wooden seating structures wrapped in fixed, handwoven rugs, encouraging visitors to remove their shoes, climb, lounge, and reconnect.
The rugs incorporate vibrant reinterpretations of traditional Al-Sadu weaving — practiced by women and recognized by UNESCO — infused with colors inspired by Saudi Arabia’s fruit heritage: dates, citrus, grapes, and pomegranates. The forms and palette echo the joyful disorder of produce boxes, reflecting both abundance and simplicity.
Rooted in Warmth is not only an homage to rural traditions and craft but also a data-informed narrative: Saudi Arabia’s fruit sector is flourishing, with dates alone contributing over 1.3 million tons annually and supporting a $4.95 billion market in 2025. By merging memory, material, and market, the work offers a sensory invitation to embrace slowness, storytelling, and a soulful connection to nature. It speaks to audiences of all ages and cultures, celebrating the timeless beauty of gathering, resting, and remembering.
Raghad Al-Ahmed
Raghad Al-Ahmed is an experimental multimedia artist and designer based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Her practice spans collage, installation, sculpture, and digital film, drawing deeply from her Hejazi cultural heritage. Her work explores religious, cultural, and personal identity through Islamic patterns and symbolic narratives. She has participated in exhibitions in Sharjah, Riyadh, and Jeddah, and collaborated with institutions such as the Noor Riyadh Festival and the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival.
Agenda
Summer Blessings
June 19 – 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Plaza Diversidad
A sensory experience to savor the summer of Saudi Arabia.
The visual narrative studio Nclass, commissioned by Ithra / Idea Lab and inspired by the work of Saudi artist Raghad Alahmad, presents an immersive installation celebrating the rich diversity of the country’s local fruits and herbs.
Visitors are invited to explore a large tablecloth that doubles as a map of Saudi Arabia. Carefully placed on it are seasonal fruits, spices, and aromatic herbs, each located in its region of origin. Every stop is an invitation to smell, touch, and taste—a sensory journey that awakens memory and reveals the agricultural richness of the land.
At the end of the experience, each guest receives a unique keepsake: a booklet filled with textures and stickers inspired by the vibrant colors and forms of the local market—a visual and tactile capsule to reconnect, page by page, with the essence of a Saudi summer.
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With the support of
