Living Projects

Active archival, heritage & cultural documentation initiatives across the Peninsula
Archives are not only housed in institutions — they are built by people. Across the Arabian Peninsula, a new generation of independent platforms, cultural initiatives, and digital projects is actively documenting, preserving, and reinterpreting the region's heritage. From sound archives to weaving collectives, from digital libraries to oral history programs, these are the living projects that a researcher should know about. Some are grassroots; others are institutional. What they share is a commitment to keeping the Peninsula's memory alive and accessible. This is a living list — we welcome contributions.
Type: Country:
Independent & Grassroots Projects
Sawtasura صوت الصورة
Founded2020 · Tara Aldughaither · Saudi Arabia
FocusSound, feminine knowledge & embodied archiving in the Arab Gulf
DescriptionA Saudi curatorial research platform working towards an "embodied archive" of regional histories. Sawtasura is a community-built multimedia library — an evolving repository of legacies shaped through collaboration with artists, researchers, and cultural institutions. It bridges sound with archival practice and intangible histories, with women's narratives and sound-based practices central to its mission.
Tagssound archivewomen's heritagecuratorial researchintangible heritage
Linksawtasura.org
Redain
FoundedKuwait · Lulu AlAbdulmoghni & Abdulaziz AlEssa
FocusVisual storytelling of overlooked Kuwaiti landscapes and culture
DescriptionA platform co-founded by young Kuwaiti creatives dedicated to highlighting the beauty of overlooked places in Kuwait through photographic books and short films. Aims to celebrate the richness of the Middle East's landscapes and culture through visual storytelling.
Tagsphotographyvisual storytellinglandscape
Link@redain.kw
ArabLit عربلت
Founded2009 · Marcia Lynx Qualey
FocusArabic literature in translation — news, reviews, interviews, resources
DescriptionThe foremost English-language resource for Arabic literature in translation. Includes ArabLit Quarterly magazine, the BULAQ podcast, and extensive coverage of Gulf and Peninsula writers. Founded and edited by M Lynx Qualey, it serves as an essential bridge between Arabic literary production and international readership, with significant coverage of Peninsula authors from Jokha Alharthi to Bothayna al-Essa.
Tagsliterary platformtranslationcriticismGulf literature
Linkarablit.org
Banipal بانيبال
Founded1998 · London · Margaret Obank & Samuel Shimon
FocusMagazine of modern Arab literature in English translation
DescriptionThe only major magazine dedicated to contemporary Arabic literature in English translation, running since 1998. Its complete 25+ year digital archive is searchable online, representing an unmatched repository of translated fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays by Arab authors — including dedicated issues on Kuwaiti and Gulf writing. Also administers the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.
Tagsliterary magazinetranslationdigital archive
Linkbanipal.co.uk
Al-Falaj الفَلَج
Founded2025 · Ghada AlMuhanna Abalkhail · Berlin
FocusBilingual open-access directory of archival sources for Arabian Peninsula research
DescriptionThe project you are currently browsing. A comprehensive, bilingual (Arabic/English) directory of archives, photographers, institutions, manuscripts, books, and cultural figures related to the Arabian Peninsula — built from five years of archival research visits across multiple countries. Open-access and community-driven.
Tagsmeta-archivebilingualopen accessdirectory
Linkalfalaj.org
Middle East Archive — الأرشيف
Founded2020 · Romaisa Baddar · Amsterdam
FocusPhotography archive and independent publisher — everyday life across the MENA region
DescriptionWhat began as a personal Instagram archive of candid photography from the Arab world — an antidote to the dominant visual narrative of conflict and destruction — has grown into an independent publishing house (Studio Samadi) with 261K+ followers and a growing library of photobooks. Titles include Living Rooms, Football, An Archive of Love, and In the Name of God. Founded by Romaisa Baddar (Moroccan-Egyptian, Amsterdam-based), the project sources images from amateur and professional photographers across SWANA, including significant Gulf coverage. A defining example of Instagram-as-archive turned cultural institution.
TagsphotographypublishingInstagram archiveeveryday life
Link@middleastarchive · middleastarchive.com
The Old Bahrain
Founded2019 · Nick Cooksey · Bahrain
FocusCrowdsourced vintage photography of Bahrain — past and present
DescriptionA growing photographic and video archive of Bahrain's transformation, run by a UK publisher who has lived on the island for over 20 years. Started as a Facebook page with 15 friends, now 50K+ followers across platforms. Cooksey collects vintage photographs (some dating to the 1930s), invites community submissions, and photographs the same locations today for then-and-now comparisons. Documents everything from the big freeze of 1964 to the early days of oil industry. A grassroots archive that has become an emotional touchstone for Bahrainis and former residents alike.
Tagsphotographycrowdsourcedthen & nowInstagram archive
Link@theoldbahrain
Khaleeji Art Museum + Sekka Magazine
Founded2017 (Sekka) / 2020 (Museum) · Manar & Sharifah Alhinai · UAE/Oman
FocusFirst digital museum of Gulf art + independent arts & culture platform for the Arab world
DescriptionTwin projects by Emirati-Omani sisters Manar and Sharifah Alhinai. Sekka Magazine (est. 2017) is an independent online arts and culture platform — 90% Arab women contributors — with a full free archive of issues covering Gulf art, identity, folklore, and literature. The Khaleeji Art Museum (est. 2020) is the GCC's first digital museum, hosting virtual exhibitions of Gulf artists, from emerging talents to established figures like Alia Al Farsi and Hassan Meer. All-women team. Exhibited on Emirates and Etihad in-flight systems. Together, these projects form an essential independent infrastructure for documenting and promoting Gulf creative production.
Tagsdigital museumarts platformwomen-ledGulf art
Linkkhaleejiartmuseum.com · sekkamag.com
Hazine خزينة
FocusArchive reviews, resource guides & essays for researchers of the Islamic worlds
DescriptionAn online resource that functions as a "repository of writing on repositories" — publishing archive reviews, interviews, long-form essays, and resource guides for researchers using library and archival collections in the Middle East and Islamic world. Includes extensive coverage of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula holdings in collections worldwide.
Tagsmeta-archiveresearch guideIslamic studies
Linkhazine.info
Craft & Intangible Heritage
Al Sadu Society / Sadu House بيت السدو
Founded1980 · Kuwait City (in a 1936 traditional house)
FocusPreserving Kuwait's Bedouin textile weaving heritage (UNESCO-listed)
DescriptionHoused in the historic Youssef Al Marzouk residence (built 1936), Sadu House is a museum, archive, and living workshop dedicated to Kuwaiti textile heritage. Includes a conservation team preserving early Sadu pieces, a library of research on weaving and textile arts, the Studio SADI artist residency program, children's workshops, and training programmes to transmit traditional weaving skills to new generations. Sadu weaving is on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list.
TagsUNESCOtextilesweavingmuseumliving heritage
Linkalsadu.org.kw
Bait Al Zubair Museum بيت الزبير
Founded1998 · Old Muscat, Oman
FocusOmani military, social, and cultural heritage — the finest private collection
DescriptionA private museum founded by the Zubair family, housed across five historic buildings in old Muscat. Contains what is widely considered the finest privately owned collection of Omani artefacts: weapons, khanjars, jewellery, costumes, textiles, historical photographs, and ancient maps of the Arabian Peninsula. Includes Gallery Sarah for contemporary Omani artists and a model traditional village with aflaj irrigation system.
Tagsprivate museummaterial culturekhanjarscontemporary art
Linkbaitalzubair.com
Oral History & Sound
AUK Oral History and Documentation Project (OHDP)
InstitutionAmerican University of Kuwait
FocusMemories of Kuwait's transformation — from pre-oil era through the 1990 Iraqi invasion
DescriptionA research project collecting oral histories from individuals who experienced the drastic shift in Kuwaiti society with the advent of oil, as well as the Iraqi invasion of 1990 and the Gulf War of 1991. Preserves first-person testimonies of a rapidly transforming society that would otherwise be lost to time.
Tagsoral historyGulf Waroil eraacademic
Linkauk.edu.kw
NYU Abu Dhabi Archives & Special Collections
FoundedAbu Dhabi, UAE
FocusArab Heritage and Gulf Crossroads — rare books, personal papers, sound recordings
DescriptionOver 2,500 rare items from the 16th century to present. Notable holdings include the J.B. Kelly archive of Eastern Arabian history, Paul Bergne's photographs of Arabian dhow construction (1970s), Marcel Kurpershoek's Bedouin poetry field notes, Andrew Eisenberg's East African-Arab commercial sound recordings (1920s–2000s), and UAE bird-watching logs (1980s–2000s). A remarkable scholarly resource for Gulf cultural history.
Tagsuniversity archiverare bookssound recordingsdhowsBedouin poetry
LinkNYUAD Archives
Literary & Publishing Platforms
Takween تكوين
Founded2016 · Bothayna al-Essa · Kuwait City
FocusIndependent bookshop, publishing house & cultural platform
DescriptionFounded by Kuwaiti novelist Bothayna al-Essa, Takween is a multidisciplinary cultural centre encompassing a bookshop, publishing house, creative writing workshop, and cultural platform. Winner of Best Arab Publisher at the 2025 Cairo International Book Fair. Publishes fiction from across the Arab world and champions freedom, pluralism, and creative expression — functioning as a crucial independent literary infrastructure in the Gulf.
Tagspublishingbookshopcreative writingindependent
Linktakween.co

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Al-Falaj is a living directory — updated continuously, open to all. Contribute a record.