Millennial Gulf

Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene is becoming more vibrant by the day. The recent opening of social space as well as increased interest in Saudi artists of both genders has facilitated access and visibility to their work. Named after the geographical coordinates of Jeddah (21.5433°N, 39.1728°E), 21,39 – Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art festival – opened...

Social commerce is a new phenomenon. In “The Social Commerce System,” it is defined as “the expansion of e-commerce in the social networks on the Internet, in which social factors are significant, and consumers use the right to create content through the media via forums, ratings, reviews, and recommendations on different platforms.”

Ulafa’a is a Bahraini art collective that flourished in response to the 2011 Bahraini uprising. It was established by Tamadher Al-Fahal and Nada Al-Aradi in 2012 and has grown over time to include other young Bahraini artists. “I am Sunni and my other co-founder is Shia,” said Tamadher, who received a grant from the U.S. Embassy...

Yemen’s ongoing war has left millions of people displaced, hungry, and hopeless. The fluid authority of local factions, the lack of news sources, and pervasive illiteracy all work to stifle public discussion within Yemen. But street graffiti, presented in local context, is a way to slip past those obstacles: to promote citizens’ involvement and provide...

Social media influencers pervade the Gulf. They grace billboards on Kuwait’s Gulf Road, stream on millions of people’s Snapchat and Instagram stories, and kickoff corporate events and social campaigns. The revolutionary growth in the Gulf’s social media influencers has been facilitated by the increased usage of mobile-based technologies among Gulfies, or khaleejis. Today, one of...

Nadeemah Abulaynain started riding her bicycle in her Jeddah neighborhood and, through Instagram, slowly attracted other women to join her. In 2015, at 16 years old, she founded Saudi Arabia’s first independently run women’s public cycling group, Bisklayta. Riding bicycles in public became permissible for women in 2013 with one caveat: the presence of a...

One of Oman’s most acclaimed fashion designers, Amal Al Raisi, stumbled upon design after shopping for a wedding dress. Unsatisfied with offerings, Amal designed her own traditional Omani wedding dress. Later, she would occasionally design dresses for close family and friends. Her business started growing as she progressed from designing traditional Omani dresses to abayas...

In an age when the virtual world is becoming increasingly dominant, a culture of board games and nonvirtual games is flourishing in Saudi Arabia. Young Saudis are filling specialized coffee houses that provide games for customers, including ones designed by Saudis and other Arabs that draw upon Arab and Islamic culture and history. Companies producing...