career is focused on building the future through documenting the past. From his contributions to the construction of a cultural center in Saudi Arabia to leading the National Film Archive of Saudi Arabia, Alabdullah has put his ±«Óătv MBA to use in creative ways.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Saudi Arabia at King Fahd University of Petroleum
& Minerals, Alabdullah began his career at working in the new business development and then a year later joined, Ithra, the
in 2011. “The Centre was built from scratch,” Alabdullah notes. “Back then, we didn’t
have any cultural centers of such nature and magnitude.”
To learn more about the business side of museums, Alabdullah participated in an internship
with Smithsonian Enterprises, the professional management arm of the Smithsonian Institution,
in Washington, D.C. During his program, Alabdullah learned that he was admitted to
±«Óătv to pursue an MBA.
“The interesting part was doing 12 hours of electives in sports and entertainment
management,” Alabdullah said. “It was the best part of being at ±«Óătv.” Alabdullah took
classes in what was to become the Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management Program.
“It was very hands on,” Alabdullah said, adding among his projects were developing
projects for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Alabdullah standing with Mr. Amin Alnasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco during the Royal Inauguration
of Ithra, King Abdulaziz Center for World CultureAfter graduating from ±«Óătv, Alabdullah returned to the cultural center. “I was assigned to continue the development of the library and archive,” Alabdullah said. “We developed everything from scratch.”
Aramco has funded the project as a major public initiative yet as a cultural project
it’s outside of their core business of oil. “We are a port of an energy company that
is trying to talk cultural language and arts, which was really different from what
the company is used to,” Alabdullah said, who also spent two years in London to running
the public affairs office of Aramco Overseas Company, an affiliate.
In 2021, Alabdullah joined the National Film Archive after working for the Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi Arabia. “Our objective is to build an archive that helps the film community and provide filmmakers with reference points to the social history of Saudi Arabia,” Alabdullah said. “Eventually, we hope to have become a destination for cinephiles and the local film community.”
Alabdullah has a passion for the preservation of audiovisuals, specifically of those that come from Saudi homes. “There are family collections that document how we live and how we have lived over the years,” Alabdullah said. “And it’s frighting that these could be lost if they aren’t taken care of as soon as possible.”
“Preserving our history is a noble mission, both as proud Saudis and as humans in general,” he added.