RIYADH — The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wirth), in partnership with the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University in China, implemented the Saudi-Chinese Cultural Exchange Program 2025. This program, from April 25 to 27, was part of its efforts to enhance cultural exchange and engage various segments of society in practicing handicrafts using distinctive cognitive methods, coinciding with the Year of Crafts 2025. The events included specialized workshops, most notably the traditional wood art workshop, which taught students how to decorate Najdi windows; the traditional metalworking workshop, which produced Chinese hairpins with designs inspired by traditional Saudi jewelry; and the traditional leather art workshop, which produced leather wallets. There were dialogue sessions and interactive workshops on traditional Saudi arts, most notably a dialogue session on the traditional art of roshan, and a lecture on traditional Saudi arts registered on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage and their impact on cultural exchange, presented by Reema Al-Dosari, a lecturer at the College of Visual Arts at the Wirth Institute. Wirth is a leading entity in highlighting national identity and enriching Saudi traditional arts locally and internationally by promoting them, recognizing excellence in their fields, supporting national capabilities, and encouraging those interested in learning and developing them.
