Hartwig Fischer Named Founding Director of Forthcoming World Cultures Museum in Saudi Arabia

Former British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has been tapped to lead an as-yet-unbuilt world cultures museum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Museums Commission in a July 10press releaseannounced that Fischer will “set the foundations for the museum and lead it, based on his global expertise in leading international cultural institutions and museums.” Designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, the museum will occupy the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh’s King Salman Park, which is at present under construction.

Fischer helmed the British Museum from 2016 to 2023, departing in the wake of allegations that a staff member there was stealing priceless treasures from the museum’s storeroom and selling them on eBay for a comparative pittance. Fischer, who before the scandal hadannouncedthat he intended to leave his role in 2024, beat a hastier retreat than planned after it was revealed that top British Museum brass, himself included, had beenwarnedof the thefts in early 2021 but had seemingly done nothing about them until July 2023.

The museum and King Salman Park itself are part of the broader Vision 2030 program initiated by the Saudi government in 2016 in an effort to reduce the country’s economic dependence on oil production and increase social and cultural diversification. Organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have sharply contrasted the country’s attempts to remake itself with its record of human rights abuses. Under the program’s auspices, Riyadh has snared hosting rights for World Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup and has gained the eighty-six-tower King Abdullah Financial District. Plans are additionally afoot for Riyadh Art, which would see the installation of 1,000 artworks across the city; Riyadh Green, an urban reforestation project; and Sports Boulevard, a large-scale linear park.