“WE WANTED TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO BE THEMSELVES.”

The 2022 XP Music Futures kicked off with a look back to projects that grew out of inspiration from XP2021. Moderated by MDLBEAST’s Haya Shaath”, KNZ records’ Omar Agha, professor and audio engineer Marcela Rada, and His Highness Prince Fahad Bin Faisal shared how XP2021 led to the creation of his new artistic collective, KARAZ

As a creative entrepreneur whose career spans education, social empowerment, and job creation, HH Prince bin Faisal aims to use creative and digital entertainment as a force for change, cultural bridge-building, and advocating for the regional creative community. His new venture, KARAZ, is a cultural collective for the alternative and unique. “We wanted to create a safe space for people to be themselves. Because when you are yourself and you feel truly grounded, you can create art in all forms. Karaz provides a safe space for people who don’t fit into the norm and push the envelope. First and foremost, I want them to recognize that they’re not alone and provide a platform for them to showcase their uniqueness.” Both [Prince bin Faisal] and his fellow panelists emphasized these nonjudgmental community spaces as essential for individual creative processes and broader creative communities.

The MENA region is only beginning to develop dedicated spaces for music, and this notion of safe space takes on new significance. Creative spaces are the primary building block of creative communities and scenes. And grassroots, community-focused space is just as essential as world-class studios and stadiums. HH Prince Fahad bin Faisal recognizes that safe spaces are needed for artists’ self-empowerment, “they are places to ask questions, to make mistakes, to foster collaborations,” and “to decide who they are and what kind of artist they want to be.”

HH Prince Fahad bin Faisal takes inspiration from Berlin, a city he feels where “you’re able to be your authentic self no matter where you are.” He aims to bring this spirit to Saudi Arabia, to “start small, with literally four walls. Then hopefully, the community that we build seeps through these walls and into the rest of the Saudi community.”