New Murabba: Cultural Procurement & Commissioning Strategy
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Project Type:
A large-scale cultural infrastructure and public art commissioning framework for Riyadh’s next-generation downtown district, part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative.
Overview:
Created the strategic roadmap for artist procurement, commissioning pathways, and cultural governance within New Murabba, ensuring the integration of public art into the urban planning and development lifecycle.
At New Murabba, I was responsible for designing a comprehensive procurement and commissioning strategy for the district’s public art program. I developed a dual-path approach that supported both single-tender and competitive proposals, tailored to project scale, curatorial ambition, and budget requirements. This framework was aligned with both RIBA stages and U.S. architectural protocols to ensure international adaptability while maintaining compliance with regional planning structures. My goal was to deliver a strategy that was culturally meaningful, operationally scalable, and structurally aligned with long-term urban development objectives.
In addition to the commissioning model, I proposed the formation of an independent Cultural Advisory Board and defined its governance structure, selection methodology, and integration within the broader approval process. The board’s remit extended beyond artist selection to include oversight of feasibility, ethics, stakeholder engagement, and curatorial coherence. I worked across disciplines—urban planning, legal, and executive leadership—to embed cultural thinking into every stage of the development’s decision-making process. This work required translating creative intent into actionable policy, ensuring artistic excellence was embedded from vision to implementation.
The strategy I delivered helped position New Murabba as a global cultural destination with a clear and accountable commissioning framework. By formalizing the relationship between curatorial ambition and governance, the model supports transparent artist selection, encourages international collaboration, and protects the cultural integrity of the project as it evolves. It now serves as the foundation for embedding art and cultural infrastructure into one of the most high-profile urban developments in the Middle East.
A large-scale cultural infrastructure and public art commissioning framework for Riyadh’s next-generation downtown district, part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative.
Overview:
Created the strategic roadmap for artist procurement, commissioning pathways, and cultural governance within New Murabba, ensuring the integration of public art into the urban planning and development lifecycle.
At New Murabba, I was responsible for designing a comprehensive procurement and commissioning strategy for the district’s public art program. I developed a dual-path approach that supported both single-tender and competitive proposals, tailored to project scale, curatorial ambition, and budget requirements. This framework was aligned with both RIBA stages and U.S. architectural protocols to ensure international adaptability while maintaining compliance with regional planning structures. My goal was to deliver a strategy that was culturally meaningful, operationally scalable, and structurally aligned with long-term urban development objectives.
In addition to the commissioning model, I proposed the formation of an independent Cultural Advisory Board and defined its governance structure, selection methodology, and integration within the broader approval process. The board’s remit extended beyond artist selection to include oversight of feasibility, ethics, stakeholder engagement, and curatorial coherence. I worked across disciplines—urban planning, legal, and executive leadership—to embed cultural thinking into every stage of the development’s decision-making process. This work required translating creative intent into actionable policy, ensuring artistic excellence was embedded from vision to implementation.
The strategy I delivered helped position New Murabba as a global cultural destination with a clear and accountable commissioning framework. By formalizing the relationship between curatorial ambition and governance, the model supports transparent artist selection, encourages international collaboration, and protects the cultural integrity of the project as it evolves. It now serves as the foundation for embedding art and cultural infrastructure into one of the most high-profile urban developments in the Middle East.