From the heart of the desert to theoasis of AlUla, the human hand hasalways been both tool and storyteller.It carved rose-gold sandstone intoNabataean facades, traced geometryinto Najdi plaster, and guided caravansalong the Silk Road exchanging forms,ideas, and memory. Throughembroidery, carving, and trade, AlUla’scrafts reveal a dialogue between people and place, necessity andimagination, heritage and the future.

This year’s theme, “The Ingenuity of the Human Hand,” invites designers to extend that dialogue through product and fashion design, treating AlUla as collaborator studio, library, and stage. We seek material intelligence and accountability: designs that honor local know-how while exploring new tools such as 3D printing and digital prototyping.


We welcome works that weave continuity with departure precise yet porous, rooted yet open. Designs where ornament becomes information, geometry an ethic, and fabrication a language. Hands remembering, and hands anticipating.