Every woven palm frond, every stitched motif, and every delicate glaze carries stories of places and people. Across the Kingdom, these crafts are part of daily life and identity. Banan, the Saudi International Handicrafts Week, brings this living heritage together each year; in 2025 it runs 13-26 November in Riyadh, giving visitors a clear window into techniques, meanings, and makers. The result is a living tapestry: artisans at work, heritage on display, and new pathways for young craftspeople.
What is Banan?
The Saudi International Handicrafts Week, also known as Banan, is the Kingdom’s flagship week for traditional crafts and heritage creativity. It brings together Saudi artisans with international masters, creating a shared space for learning, commerce, and cultural exchange. Programs include live demonstrations, training workshops, market spaces, and curated national pavilions.
Who is Behind Banan?
The Saudi International Handicrafts Week, Banan, is organized and hosted by the Saudi Heritage Commission under the Ministry of Culture, and held under the patronage of Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Commission. The 2025 edition sits within the Ministry’s Year of Handicrafts 2025, aligning the week’s exhibitions, workshops, and markets with a nationwide effort to preserve, teach, and grow Saudi craft heritage.
The Year of Handicrafts 2025
The Year of Handicrafts 2025 is a nationwide cultural focus that places traditional crafts at the center of public life for the calendar year. It encourages preservation and transmission of skills, supports artisan livelihoods, and promotes research, exhibitions, and training across Saudi regions. By rallying institutions, markets, and education around crafts, the initiative strengthens cultural identity while opening real opportunities for makers, especially youth and women, to participate in the creative economy.
This designation also aligns cultural pride with practical outcomes. Municipal spaces host pop‑ups and workshops; universities and cultural centers document techniques; tourism programs connect visitors to craft experiences. Together, these actions create a single learning pathway, so that heritage is not only admired but practiced.
Impact and Recognition
The event builds on the successes of its previous two editions, which saw a large turnout of over 200,000 visitors. Sales exceeded SAR 2.5 million in the 2024 edition alone, and international participation expanded from 12 countries in the first edition to 25 countries in the second. Banan was honored with the Paris Design Award, the iF Design Award, and the BETTER FUTURE London Design Award 2025, reflecting the Heritage Commission’s commitment to supporting the cultural sector, enhancing national identity, and advancing the economic goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
Banan 2025: Third Edition and its Purpose
The Heritage Commission will host the third edition of the Saudi International Handicrafts Week (Banan) during the Year of Handicrafts 2025. The week exists to spotlight traditional crafts, support and empower artisans, and create cultural exchange with other countries by presenting the Kingdom’s rich heritage.
Direct Interaction: Learning From Makers
Visitors meet craftspeople at work, seeing materials, tools, and steps up close. The layout blends workshop, market, and classroom, so every demo can become a conversation, a quick lesson, or a meaningful purchase.
- For artisans: Test new designs, get feedback from buyers and curators, and tap training or incubation programs.
- For families & students: Hands‑on mini‑classes turn curiosity into skill and build respect for the maker’s craft.
- For everyone: Leave with pieces that carry the maker’s touch and the story behind it.
Linking Heritage to the Creative Economy
The Saudi International Handicrafts Week shows how heritage becomes part of today’s creative economy in Saudi Arabia. It is not only a festival, but a place where makers learn how to earn.
This link to the economy is real. The 2024 edition recorded over SAR 2.5 million in sales and more than 200,000 visitors. When visitors buy directly from artisans, money goes to the maker, families are supported, and skills stay alive. That is how Banan serves culture and Vision 2030, turning tradition into jobs and small businesses.
The name "Banan" means "fingertips" in Arabic, referencing the hands-on nature of handicraft work.
What are the Handicrafts of Saudi Arabia?
Saudi handicrafts are diverse, regionally rooted, and deeply tied to everyday life. They include traditions shaped by desert interiors, mountain villages, oases, and coasts, each with distinctive materials and motifs.
- Textiles & Weaving: Sadu weaving of geometric patterns; palm-frond weaving (khous) for baskets and mats; wool and cotton textiles for tents, rugs, and apparel. Patterns often signal tribe, route, or function.
- Embroidery & Adornment: Regional embroidery styles (including naqda metallic-thread work) on garments and accessories; beadwork and decorative trims that carry local identities. Motifs can encode blessings, protection, or references to nature.
- Wood & Palm Crafts: Carved doors and chests, domestic tools, and palm-based products. Palm crafts remain a sustainable response to oasis life, turning fronds and fibers into durable forms.
- Metal & Jewelry: Silversmithing and goldwork for traditional jewelry; brass and copperware with chased or engraved designs; functional blades and fittings forged by skilled metalworkers.
- Clay & Stone: Pottery for water, storage, and cooking, alongside decorative ceramics; stonework for household and architectural elements across mountain regions.
- Leather & Tanning: Saddles, bags, footwear, and containers crafted from tanned hides, often stamped or tooled with rhythmic motifs.
- Calligraphy, Bookbinding & Paper Arts: Decorative scripts, gilding, and bindings that honor written culture and religious arts.
- Folk Painting & Decorative Arts: Regional wall painting traditions such as Al‑Qatt Al‑Asiri; painted chests and everyday objects that carry color codes of place and family.
Regional Map of Craft Traditions
1) Najd (Central)
Bold sadu geometries, leatherwork for travel gear, carved doors and mandusah chests. Color palettes tend toward strong contrasts suited to desert light.
2) Hijaz (Western)
Fine embroidery and jewelry linked to pilgrimage routes; wood latticework and brassware in urban centers; ceramic vessels adapted to coastal and highland life.
3) Asir (Southwest)
Al‑Qatt Al‑Asiri wall painting, palm weaving, and wood decor marked by bright color codes and rhythmic patterning; mountain village craft schools keep styles alive.
4) Eastern Region (Ash‑Sharqiyah)
Palm-frond crafts tied to oasis agriculture; boat-related carpentry and ropework; pearl‑linked jewelry heritage.
5) Northern & Tabuk
Wool textiles and tent traditions; beadwork and metal adornments that reflect trans‑desert trade.
Many motifs carry practical meanings: a zigzag can echo mountain paths or dunes; a lozenge may symbolize protection or belonging. Reading patterns becomes a kind of local literacy.
Guest of Honor: China
China appears as the guest of honor, presenting a wide spectrum of legacy crafts from porcelain and lacquer to silk and papercutting. Expect master artisans, technique showcases, and design dialogues that connect East Asian lineages with Arabian aesthetics. The pavilion model allows visitors to witness process and philosophy, not only finished objects.
And Syria Joins for the First Time
Syria participates for the first time with traditional arts and handmade products. This presence opens a fresh corridor for cultural dialogue across the region. Visitors can anticipate Levantine textile arts, inlay work, and patterns that speak to shared histories and distinct schools of craft.
Spotlight: The House of Artisans (بيت الحرفيين)
The House of Artisans is a national initiative that trains, mentors, and supports craftspeople across the Kingdom. It offers hands-on courses, product development, and pathways to market. At Banan, the program steps into the public eye: trainees demonstrate skills, mentors share techniques, and finished products meet buyers. The platform turns learning into livelihoods.
What Visitors Will Experience
- Live craft demonstrations: Pottery wheels turning, looms in motion, palm-frond braiding, metal chasing, and fine embroidery.
- Workshops and children’s zones: Short sessions that are beginner-friendly and family-oriented.
- Curated pavilions: National and regional showcases that highlight technique, materials, and design language.
- Design and entrepreneurship: Product refinement, branding guidance, and introductions to retailers and cultural institutions.
- Heritage storytelling: Labels and docents explain origins, uses, and symbolic meanings, helping visitors read patterns like a language.
How Does Banan Serve Saudi Heritage?
The Saudi International Handicrafts Week strengthens living heritage while welcoming innovation. It gives artisans visibility, creates dignified income, and links master techniques with new audiences. The event also supports cultural tourism and creative industries in line with national goals. Most importantly, it preserves skills by placing them in real hands: apprentices, students, and young designers.
The week catalyzes long‑term impact. Artisans gain contacts with cultural centers and retailers; teachers gather materials for classrooms; young visitors discover pathways into training. When makers meet buyers and educators in one space, knowledge and markets reinforce one another.
Closing Reflection
Banan is a meeting of hands across generations and borders. When a palm frond is woven in Jazan, when porcelain fires in a Chinese kiln, when Syrian patterns return to public view, the Kingdom’s cultural story gains new chapters.
The work continues long after the week ends, every time a young artisan picks up a tool and begins again.
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