Ithra Launches 'Baseqat' Exhibition Celebrating the Date Palm as a Global Cultural Symbol

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) today launched the ‘Baseqat’ exhibition to celebrate the date palm as a cultural symbol and a living heritage deeply rooted in the memory of the people of the Arabian Peninsula.

 The event coincides with the launch of the ‘Khoos Initiative,’ held in the Great Hall of the center, which aligns with the Year of Crafts and aims to reimagine the traditional craft of palm frond weaving with a contemporary spirit.

 Head of the Ithra Museum Farah Abushullaih explained that the ‘Baseqat’ exhibition invites makers, families, and young learners to participate in the craft of palm frond weaving as a tradition deeply embedded in the Kingdom’s history—an artistic path collectively traced with a community spirit. Through this interaction, heritage is renewed as the expertise of this ancient craft is passed from hand to hand and generation to generation through creativity, care, and community effort.

 The exhibition features 15 artworks by 25 artists from within the Kingdom and abroad, under the supervision of curators and art specialists, in a creative experience that explores the presence of the palm tree in memory and reinterprets it from an artistic perspective combining heritage and modernity, the tangible and the symbolic. The exhibition’s design reflects multiple meanings through artistic spaces interwoven with elements of the palm tree—wood, rope, and fiber—creating a visual scene reminiscent of the traditional areesh that shades memory.

 The exhibition is divided into six sections: Oasis, Roots, Trunk, Fronds, Dates, and a dedicated lab for experimentation and hands-on workshops, in addition to a theater screening the documentary film ‘Sa‘fa’ and hosting various discussion sessions. Together, these components offer a new artistic interpretation of the role of the palm tree in architecture, food, medicine, environment, and poetry.

 A distinguished group of artists from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Mexico, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Germany, and Spain are participating in the exhibition, presenting diverse works ranging from sculptures and installations to contemporary media that employ palm materials in artistic narratives oscillating between heritage and innovation.