Art
Saudi Arabia Is Planning a Massive, New Arts Center
The Misk Art Institute is the latest, super-ambitious arts organization to originate from the Gulf.
About 15 months ago, the artist Ahmed Mater was given a 10 minute audience with Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
During the meeting, Mater, who’d come to the prince’s attention after one of his artworks was presented to China as a state gift, laid out an ambitious proposal: Saudi Arabia, Mater argued, should be an arts hub, a place where the creation and propagation of contemporary art could thrive.