Stories of urban renewal and heritage re-discovery rub shoulders in this panel devoted to discussing culture’s potency to transform. Is culture the right tool to enhance the urban fabric or re-ignite forgotten heritage sites? Or is it unfairly instrumentalised, perhaps creating exclusion over inclusion?This panel unites some some of the most influential thinkers and drivers behind a handful of deeply impactful regional and international projects.
Since 1994, Johannesburg has served as a critical reference point for Hobbs’ artistic and curatorial insights into the apartheid city turned African city, with a particular interest in the impact of defensive urban planning and architecture on the behavioral aspects of city and society.
Sumantro Ghose is an Arts Producer, Curator and Cultural Strategist with over 20 years’ experience in museums, festivals, education and cultural diplomacy. He is Artistic Programming Director for the Royal Commission for AlUla, where he is responsible for the creative direction of RCU’s vision for AlUla’s calendar of art exhibitions, festivals, performances and community engagement.
Director of Art Jameel since 2016, Antonia Carver oversees the arts organisation’s work across learning and the arts, plus its new institutions: Jameel Arts Centre (Dubai’s contemporary museum), which opened in November 2018, and Hayy Jameel, Jeddah, a multidisciplinary creative hub, opening winter 2021.
Adam joined DGDA in July 2020 and is now Chief, Heritage and Culture, with responsibility for all aspects of cultural heritage within DGDA’s area from understanding the cultural landscape, to managing its precious cultural heritage, to reviving and reflecting on the culture of Diriyah. While working to build capacity within DGDA as relates to our shared heritage and culture, this work has wider benefits supporting Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary culture.