Noor Riyadh

Operational strategy, implementation and ongoing capacity-building for Riyadh’s globally influential urban festival of light, art and innovation.

Location: Saudi Arabia

Client: Royal Commission for Riyadh City / Riyadh Art

Date: 2019 - Present

Services: Consultancy, Recruitment & Training

The Project

Noor Riyadh will be a unique community, tourism and brand building platform for the city of Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. Most importantly, it aspires to be an original, globally influential art and light festival with artistic integrity, recognised for its positive impact on the local community. It is a component of the city-wide Riyadh Art initiative which will launch in March 2021. The festival will be a month-long annual event that will transform the city of Riyadh into an urban festival of light art and innovation, featuring interactive art, installations, public sculptures, architectural interventions and grand-scale projections. It will showcase the best contemporary art from renowned international and local artists.

What we did

Our work includes managing the full project life-cycle of the talent acquisition and selection program for the Programme Management Office (PMO). This has involved our dedicated team managing the attraction, evaluation and acquisition of specialist team members, including the Executive Director and Artistic Director, sourced locally, regionally and internationally. We have also supported the implementation strategy, notably coordinating, facilitating and attending workshops that have helped define and drive the community engagement plan. 

The outcome

After successfully recruiting 12 members of the PMO team, most recently, we have designed, implemented and are now delivering the Barker Langham ‘Creative Futures’ learning and development program. In this bespoke 12-month long capability building program, we are coordinating opportunities for local creatives employed by Noor Riyadh to develop and enhance their knowledge of community engagement within the arts and culture sector. This program, which is tailored exclusively to the needs of each individual, is designed to fluidly evolve on an ongoing basis, flowing to the needs of the live environment, individual and collective responsibilities, and emerging interests.