At a Glance

  • Location: Jeddah – Islamic Arts Biennale 2025
  • Date: 14 Shawwal 1446 AH / April 12, 2025

The “Turuq: Flavors and Paths” forum concluded its activities this evening, after four days packed with art, flavor and cultural identity, as part of the annual “Research Space” program at the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 in Jeddah, offering an unprecedented experience that merged culinary arts with visual and cultural practices to present a contemporary reading of food as an artistic medium carrying society's identity and its transformations.

The forum ran from April 9 to 12, with the participation of leading chefs, researchers, designers and content creators, alongside artists and creatives in visual arts and popular culture, drawing wide media and cultural attendance that celebrated Saudi cuisine as a rich expressive field combining authenticity and innovation.

The forum focused on the western region as a key historical hub in the spice trade and diverse culinary traditions, giving its activities a cultural dimension that went beyond taste to a visual and human narrative reflecting the cultural exchange that has shaped the local cuisine's character over the ages.

The forum featured more than 15 main events, including workshops, discussion panels, live cooking demonstrations, film screenings, and artistic evenings addressing themes such as “food as identity,” “folk recipes,” and “migration and plants in shaping taste,” alongside creative workshops such as “bread stamping,” “food photography,” and “embroidery inspired by plants mentioned in the Quran,” reflecting the range of artistic expression tools linked to food.

The forum's activities concluded with a traditional Saudi feast featuring leading local chefs, presenting dishes representing different regions of the Kingdom, in a festive artistic and cultural atmosphere combining heritage and modernity, cementing the forum as an initiative that strengthens the interaction between art and society and opens new paths for integrating cuisine into artistic and cultural dialogue.