Frieze Week, Central Saint Martin’s College, and a symposium on art in MENA 
Frieze Week is a significant moment in London’s cultural calendar, bringing together artists, collectors, curators, institutions and the public in a celebration of art.
The art world flocked to London to attend this weeklong event. Beyond the fair, Frieze’s extensive programming includes talks, collaborations, and special projects which served as an educational platform.
Representing Saudi Arabia’s vibrant contemporary art scene, ATHR Gallery participated in the main Frieze fair, while Hafez Gallery presented its exhibition at No. 9 Cork Street.
Parallel to Frieze happening in Regents Park, on Oct. 16 I co-hosted a symposium only a short walk from the park at Central Saint Martins titled “Art and Innovation: New Directions from the Middle East and Asia.”
Central Saint Martins, long recognized as one of the world’s leading art and design institutions, has played a big role in shaping creative talent from the Middle East.
Saudi artist Safeya Binzagr is one of the university’s alumni, having studied there in the 1970s.
She is viewed as a pioneering creative who immortalized folk heritage and paved the way for future generations of Arab artists.
In the symposium we explored how technology, policy, innovation and artistic practice are transforming the creative landscape in the Arab world.
The symposium featured prominent experts in their fields including Aryan Khan from Frieze Connect, Saudi artist and CSM alumnus Luluwah Al-Hamoud, Sheikha Marwa Al-Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Fine Arts Society, and Suzy Sikorski, director of business development at Bonhams and Founder of MidEast Art.
The sessions were moderated by Maria Paula Rodriguez Quijano, Pejman Nazari and myself.
We also highlighted the need to think about innovation as a lived practice that is constantly evolving, something that can be nurtured in education, embedded in policy development and is also inspired by our roots.
Together, we examined innovation across multiple scales, from the individual artist experimenting and building a collective to governments and institutions creating strategies for nurturing cultural ecosystems.
Another key theme we explored at the symposium was philanthropy. In 2024, philanthropic giving in the US to arts, culture and humanities reached $25.13 billion, providing resilience to the creative sector and building strong connected communities.
These ideas also surfaced the following day in my conversation with Leonie Mir, head of VIP EMEA at Frieze, after attending a breakfast talk on patronage and building foundations for cultural impact as part of this year’s exceptional Frieze VIP program.
Mir highlighted the growing importance, especially in light of the recent Frieze Abu Dhabi announcement, of more collectors evolving into cultural stewards and active participants in shaping the art ecosystem.
As Frieze Week drew to a close, a recurring message echoed across conversations and the symposium’s final discussions: one of the key lessons for decision-makers is the challenge of how to successfully support creative innovation and channel funding and donations toward the most impactful projects.
Innovation often precedes regulation, and governments are constantly learning to assess outcomes holistically while also nurturing the processes that lead to them.
This requires both openness and discernment, openness to new models and methods, and discernment to adapt them within local contexts.
Such strategic approaches encourage investors, donors, creatives and other stakeholders to engage more actively.
As a result their contributions and confidence in the field will increase. In turn, this will provide a strong foundation for the steady and sustainable development of the sector.
- Dr. Ghadah W. Alharthi is an international cultural adviser and an associate professor specializing in culture and innovation at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. X: @GhadahWA
