Ithra: Event Series

The background

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is a vibrant hub in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where cultural exchange and creative exploration come alive. Their mission extends beyond hosting events; they’re dedicated to fostering innovation at its core. This commitment is evident in their diverse initiatives, and they sought a collaborative partner to bring their vision to life.

The execution

Our collaboration with Ithra spanned multiple projects, each one a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of creative expression and audience engagement. By leveraging our expertise in content and digital experiences, we helped Ithra bring its vision to life across three key events: Sync, The Tanween Series and the Ithra Content Initiative. 

Sync Events

Ithra actively participates in Sync, a platform dedicated to exploring the intersection of technology and well-being. For the Sync 22 and Sync 24 events, we played a progressively larger role, encompassing creative concept development, content creation for interactive elements, and the production of innovative experiences.

The theme of Sync 2024 was digital well-being for which we created three experiences:

1. Capture: This experience challenged visitors with a corridor filled with cameras tracking their faces. At the end, a display presented a powerful message: “How is your identity reflected online?” alongside the live camera feeds, prompting introspection about our digital footprint.
2. Crossroads of Consent: Following Capture, this digital experience delved deeper into online identity. Through a series of questions, visitors were assigned one of four personas, prompting them to consider their online behaviour and take a selfie with their assigned persona.
3. Interactive AI Film: This groundbreaking experience utilised AI-generated imagery and motion graphics to guide users through a series of interactive scenes. Each scene presented an ethical dilemma related to AI, with users choosing from three options – no AI, full AI, or moderate AI. These choices shaped the narrative and ending, offering a unique and personalised journey.

Tanween Series

The Tanween Series is the largest creativity platform in Saudi Arabia. We developed captivating concepts for its 2021 and 2022 iterations that celebrated creativity and inspired participants.

Content Initiative

Recognising the importance of enriching the Arabic content landscape, Ithra, alongside the Cultural Development Fund, launched a content initiative. This program provides funding, mentorship, and marketing support to propel high-calibre Arabic content projects across various media formats. For the 2022 content initiative, we developed stage design creative concepts for the event.

The results

The results of our partnership with Ithra demonstrate the transformative power of content and immersive experiences. By working together, we were able to inspire creativity, spark important conversations, and leave a lasting impact on the cultural landscape.