Photo credits: apollo-magazine.com
Hartwig Fischer, former director of the British Museum, has been appointed as the founding director of a new museum of world cultures in Saudi Arabia. Designed by the late Ricardo Bofill, the museum is set to open in the Royal Arts Complex, Riyadh, in 2026. According to the Saudi Museums Commission, the museum will showcase Saudi and Arabian Peninsula heritage and highlight cultures from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. This initiative is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy. Fischer, who led the British Museum from 2016 to 2023, resigned after the theft of around 1,500 items from its collection. He previously directed the Dresden State Art Collections.
