Riyadh, 9 October 2025 (17 Rabi’ al-Thani 1447H) – The Riyadh International Book Fair 2025 hosted a series of creative workshops spanning the visual arts, literature and communication skills, offering visitors rich intellectual and practical experiences that embody the fair’s role as a platform bringing together creativity in all its forms.

The activities opened with a workshop titled "Secrets of Manga-Making," which explored methods for turning an idea into a fully realized illustrated story and the stages of developing it into a visual novel, game or other visual production, with participation from fans of comics and Japanese art. The workshop also discussed the art of miniature painting as one of the historical roots of visual art in Arab culture, stressing the importance of defining the type of work and its target audience to achieve artistic and commercial success.

In a related session, a workshop titled "How to Read the Story Behind a Painting" highlighted the relationship between visual art and literary narrative, presenting the concept of "narrative reading of a painting" as a critical method that helps analyze artwork through its storytelling elements such as event, place, time and characters — allowing audiences to understand a painting as a visual text rich in meaning and significance.

The program also included a training workshop titled "Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: Strategies for Successful Speaking Skills," which addressed methods for building confidence in front of an audience, effective communication skills, and the importance of reading body language during a presentation, alongside the use of vocal tone and body movement to achieve visual and auditory engagement that strengthens a speaker’s impact.

These workshops are part of the fair’s broad cultural program, which seeks to spread knowledge and develop creative skills among audiences of all backgrounds, reflecting the leading cultural role played by the Riyadh International Book Fair as one of the region’s most prominent literary and intellectual events.

The activities come as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which aim to support culture and creativity, enable national talent to explore the arts and innovation, and strengthen the Kingdom’s presence as a thriving cultural hub regionally and globally.