Institutional Content & Narrative Strategy
Museum of the Future, Dubai, UAE
Developed institutional content and narrative frameworks, translating complex ideas into clear public-facing experiences for a major international cultural destination.
Cultural Strategy · Institutions & Places · Art Advisory
Ideas,institutions &cultural life.
Dr Wided Rihana Khadraoui is a cultural strategist and advisor helping organisations shape programmes, places, partnerships, and experiences across culture, contemporary art and the creative economy.
LSEUAL Central Saint MartinsSotheby’s InstitutePhDFounder of MARS MiamiFounder of VerseworksLSEUAL Central Saint MartinsSotheby’s InstitutePhDFounder of MARS MiamiFounder of VerseworksLSEUAL Central Saint MartinsSotheby’s InstitutePhDFounder of MARS MiamiFounder of VerseworksLSEUAL Central Saint MartinsSotheby’s InstitutePhDFounder of MARS MiamiFounder of Verseworks
What I do
Cultural Strategy & Advisory
Institutional strategy, cultural policy, programme development and audience engagement for organisations building, growing or rethinking cultural initiatives.
Art Advisory & Sourcing
Researching, sourcing and commissioning contemporary art for collectors, institutions, designers and cultural developments, from individual works to collection and site-specific strategies.
Research & Cultural Intelligence
Commissioned research, market analysis and cultural mapping that helps organisations understand audiences, sectors, places and emerging opportunities.
Narrative, Partnerships & Programme Development
Developing the stories, partnerships and programmes that turn cultural strategies into something people can experience, support and engage with.
Selected work
International Strategy & Market Development
Creative Australia, Sydney, Australia
Developed international engagement and market-development strategies for the Australian cultural sector, spanning partnerships, funding, priority markets and pathways for global growth.
Education, Residencies & Institutional Development
Misk Art Institute, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Established and led the institute’s education function, developing national and international residency programmes and learning initiatives based on research into organisational priorities and gaps across the Saudi cultural ecosystem.
Editorial & Publication Project Management
Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 — Kaph Books
Also selected engagements: Sotheby’s · Diriyah Biennale Foundation · The Media Majlis · Frieze · Creative Australia · Deloitte · Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism
About
I’m a cultural strategist, writer and advisor with more than a decade of international experience, specialising in the Middle East, the GCC and North Africa.
My work sits at the intersection of cultural policy, institutions, audiences and ideas. I advise museums, cultural organisations, creative businesses and brands on strategy, programme development, positioning, partnerships and the narratives that connect them with the people they want to reach.
I also work directly with artists, collections and commissions, researching, identifying and sourcing contemporary art for institutions, private clients and site-specific projects, and helping shape the curatorial thinking around what belongs where and why.
Alongside my advisory work, I founded MARS Miami and the multilingual poetry studio Verseworks. My background spans economics, cultural management and contemporary art, with training at LSE, UAL Central Saint Martins and Sotheby’s Institute, and a PhD focused on museums and cultural development in the Gulf.
In the field — language, light and gathering across the region.
Writing
- 2024
Commissioned market research
Middle East Growth Strategy
Sotheby’s — Confidential client report
- 2023
Commissioned research
Public Art & Placemaking
Barker Langham — Proprietary research
- 2021
Research contribution
“To Avoid or To Embrace? Navigating and Negotiating Identity in the Global Art Market”
Sharjah Art Foundation, March Meeting
- 2018
- 2016
Book chapter
“Digitalizing Social Change through Cultural Institutions in Saudi Arabia”
in Future Imperfect: Contemporary Art Practices and Cultural Institutions in the Middle East, Sternberg Press
- 2014
Critical review
Review of Uncommon Grounds: New Media and Critical Practices in North Africa and the Middle East
Kalimat Magazine
Questions, answered
What does a cultural strategist do?
A little bit of everything, honestly. At its core, my job is to help people turn a good cultural idea into something that actually works.
That might mean figuring out what a new museum should stand for, researching where there’s a genuine gap in the cultural landscape, designing a programme or residency, developing partnerships, shaping the story around a project, or finding the right artists for a particular place.
I tend to come in when there’s an ambition, sometimes a very big one, but the path from idea to reality isn’t quite clear yet. I research, ask a lot of questions, connect the dots and help build the strategy, narrative and practical structure around it.
Where do you work?
Pretty much wherever the project takes me. My work has spanned the Middle East, North America, Europe and Australia, with particularly deep experience across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
I work internationally with museums, cultural organisations, consultancies, creative businesses and private clients — sometimes embedded with a team, sometimes coming in for a specific piece of strategy, research or development. A lot of the work can happen remotely, with travel when being on the ground actually matters.
I’m especially useful on projects that cross borders: organisations entering a new market, institutions building international partnerships, or teams that need someone who understands how cultural ideas translate between different places and contexts.
What kind of organisations do you advise?
I work with museums, cultural institutions, government entities, foundations, creative businesses, consultancies and private founders.
The common thread is usually that they are building something, changing direction, entering a new market or trying to make a cultural idea more coherent. Sometimes that means shaping a programme or institutional strategy; other times it means research, partnerships, positioning, narrative development or figuring out what the next phase should actually look like.
I also work with smaller creative teams and founders, especially when they need senior strategic thinking without building a large in-house team.
How do I start a project with you?
The easiest way is to send me an email with a few lines about what you’re working on, where the project is based and what you need help figuring out.
It doesn’t need to be fully formed. Some of the best projects start with a rough idea, a problem that needs solving or a sense that something isn’t quite working yet.