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DHAHRAN: Downtown Design, a contemporary design fair that has run in the UAE for the last decade, will debut in Saudi Arabia from May 20 to 23 at JAX District, marking the Kingdom’s first official event dedicated to original, high-quality design.  

“Downtown Design Riyadh, with its thoughtfully curated program and blend of local and global expertise, reflects our vision to build a dynamic design community that embodies the Kingdom’s rich and diverse cultural identity,” Sumayah Al-Solaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission, wrote in a statement. 

The multi-day activation will be held in partnership with the Architecture and Design Commission under the Ministry of Culture. 

Mette Degn-Christensen, director of Downtown Design, expressed her enthusiasm for the inaugural edition in the capital. 

“I think you’re going to experience something that’s been really thoughtfully selected for this fair, with the unique setting of the location,” she told Arab News. “I’m very excited about the venue. It’s very historic, and it’s just a great way to kind of juxtapose the more modern and the historic, at the same time. If you think about it, nowhere in the world has an event of our nature in that kind of venue. 

“I’m really kind of overwhelmed with how amazing it is to get to do a design fair literally on the terraces of the UNESCO heritage site (in Diriyah),” she added. “I think that’s really special.” 

Degn-Christensen, a Danish design leader with more than 15 years of international experience, has directed Downtown Design in Dubai since 2021. She has helped expand the fair’s global reach and champion regional talent. She now brings that expertise to Saudi Arabia. 

“What excites me personally the most — and I think the team also — is this really genuine, encouraging energy in Riyadh,” she said. “I didn’t expect this welcome — it’s not easy to start a fair in a new country or a new market.” 

For Degn-Christensen, one of the fair’s main goals is to “encourage you to maybe consider design more in your life and your work. And those are the things that we have been doing over the years. So I think (this is) almost, maybe, a fast-track version of that.” 

And she believes the timing of the fair aligns with a growing appreciation among general society for thoughtful design.  

“I think it’s the right time. There’s a shift in perspective of quality and of investing value into purchasing quality, sustainable long-lasting design,” she said. “(That’s true), I think, globally, but certainly in this region. I’m very excited about that kind of moment. 

“I think that it’s a good time for our fair also in terms of that there are fashion and luxury and art initiatives in the Kingdom, but when it comes to design and high quality, premium quality design, there isn’t really such an outlet yet,” she continued. 

Downtown Design Riyadh will bring together a global roster of established brands, emerging designers and regional studios. Exhibitors include lighting innovators Tom Dixon, Brokis and Articolo, presented by Huda Lighting; Scandinavian furniture houses Audo Copenhagen, GUBI, and &Tradition, brought by The Bowery Company; and the regional debut of Scarlet Splendour, featuring bold brass pieces by designer Richard Hutten. 

Kuwait-based Babnimnim Studio will present an architectural installation for Cosentino, exploring heritage and innovation, while Jotun Paints will stage a color-focused experience in collaboration with Saudi creatives.  

French heritage brand Maison Louis Drucker will debut a digital collaboration with TRAME and Aranda\Lasch, “merging algorithmic design with traditional handcraft.” 

A dedicated section of the fair will spotlight limited-edition and collectible works. Gallery COLLECTIONAL will showcase handcrafted furniture by Christophe Delcourt, sculptural lighting by Apparatus Studio, and vintage-inspired designs by Draga & Aurel. Venini’s artisanal glass, produced with Michele De Lucchi and Peter Marino, will be shown alongside luxury highlights from Visionnaire and Serafini. 

In addition to the exhibits, Downtown Design Riyadh will also populate JAX District with pop-ups, creative interventions and a dynamic talks program. “Strata,” a modular outdoor installation by multidisciplinary studio Karim+Elias, made from locally-sourced sand and constructed using rammed-earth techniques, will merge traditional materials with contemporary design. 

The talks series will bring together architects, developers, collectors and creatives to discuss “themes shaping design in the region and beyond.” 

Downtown Design Riyadh reflects the Kingdom’s growing investment in culture and creativity under Vision 2030. The fair is set to become an annual platform supporting the Kingdom’s active interior-design market and connecting Saudi talent with global networks. 

“It’s been a few years that we’ve been looking to start an initiative in Saudi and then we wanted to make sure that we did it at the right time, but also that we did it in the right way,” Degn-Christensen said. “There’s some overlap in the Dubai (team) and then there are some just from Riyadh — and it’s the same for suppliers and contractors. It’s certainly not a copy of what we’re doing in Dubai.” 

DHAHRAN: It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, not for Saudi actor, comedian, writer, and musician Ibrahim Al-Hajjaj anyway.  

“Getting into acting was a coincidence,” he tells Arab News. “I used to be in a band. I played guitar and sang grunge rock and blues. But in 2012 a loss pushed me to stop music and look for something new.” 

That something new didn’t come in the form of an epiphany or an elaborate five-year plan. It came quietly, like many meaningful changes do.  

“In 2013, I came across an acting course, just by chance,” he recalls. “Then, in 2015, I took a workshop with Kevin Spacey in Sharjah. That’s when my career really started. That year was the true beginning.”  

Since then, Al-Hajjaj has become one of the most popular comedic actors in the Kingdom, known for his sharp wit, heartfelt roles, and endless commitment to culturally rooted storytelling. But the spark that lit it all was just as humble as his beginnings. 

“The first time I acted on stage, my role was barely two minutes,” he said with a laugh. “I said a line, the actor in front of me responded, and suddenly I improvised. The whole theater burst into laughter. I turned to them, thinking, ‘What’s happening?’ Everyone looked so happy. At that moment, making people laugh was beautiful. I realized that comedy is like doing a good deed.” 

That good deed would grow into 2023’s “Sattar,” a breakout hit and the highest-grossing film in the — admittedly short — history of Saudi cinema. But his new film, the action-comedy “Esaaf,” released last month, may challenge that. “We hope it breaks that record,” he says. “We’ve hit nearly 200,000 admissions.”  

But for Al-Hajjaj, success is about more than numbers. “Success is defined by people,” he says. “It isn’t something artists define for themselves. If audiences are watching and enjoying your work, that’s success. At the end of the day, we make art for people to experience as a family. It has to be both meaningful and accessible.”  

Set in Riyadh, “Esaaf,” helmed by British director Colin Teague, follows two incompetent paramedics — Omar (Al-Hajjaj) and Khalid (Mohammed Al-Qahtani) who unwittingly become entangled in a kidnapping plot.  

The film saw Al-Hajjaj wearing many hats: co-writer, creative producer, and lead actor. 

“I was on set for 14 hours daily, ensuring everything felt right: the dialogue, comedy, and the Saudi details. I was like the mother on set. It was exhausting but fulfilling.” 

It’s clear that for Al-Hajjaj, storytelling is truly personal, and the stakes are high. One story in particular, from a nationwide meet-and-greet tour, stuck with him. “An11-year-old girl gave me a crumpled piece of paper with a black heart drawn on it. I went home and cried,” he recalls. “It reminded me that parents are trusting me with what matters most to them: their kids. And that trust means everything.” 

And that’s what Al-Hajjaj wants to honor every time he walks on set. 

“I hope always to make stories that are real, Saudi, full of heart, that families can enjoy together,” he says. “Because that’s what it’s really about; it’s about bringing people together and letting them laugh side by side. There’s nothing more beautiful than that.”