Projects

ALULA

AlUla

  • Royal Commission of AlUla
  • AlUla, Saudi Arabia
  • 2019

As the region of AlUla re-emerges as one of the world’s most exciting and significant cultural heritage destinations, the Royal Commission for AlUla is striving to develop platforms that connect the world through a shared inheritance of heritage, nature and art.

Barker Langham was initially commissioned to create strategic and interpretive options and concepts for AlUla Old Town and Summer Farms. This historic and highly significant seasonal settlement, positioned on important trade and pilgrimage routes, is being brought back to life sensitively and creatively. We developed deep research and analysis of the site’s heritage assets, stories and strategic direction, ultimately creating a new way of looking at conservation as an active driver of new economies. The options and concepts are now part of the wider strategic thinking for the region.

The Royal Commission for AlUla further appointed Barker Langham to develop programming strategies for the activation and promotion of cultural assets across the region. We developed a conference strategy creating the new AlUla Cultural Forum, a conference series designed to bring together global thought leaders through productive dialogue and to engage diverse audiences through art and archaeology partnerships. Our wider events strategy proposes varied programming that engages local community members, activates cultural assets, generates content and increases capacity amongst those who work within AlUla.

Both strands of our work will be central to the future of this exciting region of Saudi Arabia as it opens up to new tourist and cultural audiences, both domestic and international.