Art of Safety
Partnership puts Aramco’s history of safety on display
The Art of Safety section in the Aramcorama exhibition at Ithra will see a rotating selection of posters displayed in glass cabinets with an accompanying exhibition board on the origins of the book itself.
Earlier this year saw the release of Saudi Aramco and the Art of Safety – a Loss Prevention publication that promotes a volume of artwork that brings a distinctly unique and colorful side to safety with the display of archive material from as far back as the 1940s.
For those who did not get the opportunity to glance through its pages, a taste of its myriad of content is now on display as part of the Aramcorama exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra).
Aramcorama exhibition
Aramcorama is a permanent exhibition that narrates Aramco’s origins and development. Original images, historical documents and rare manuscripts are housed in specially built glass cabinets, reflecting some of the most valuable elements of Aramco’s history, including the original geological notebook that led to the company’s first oil discovery in 1938.
An entire wall of individual screen panels, each a large-format image marking some part of Aramco’s history, creates a stunning visual journey of the development of oil in the Kingdom.
Now, Saudi Aramco and the Art of Safety is adding its own contribution to the exhibition by being selected for a display of its material demonstrating Aramco’s commitment to safety.
This is a part of Aramco’s heritage that we would like to give our visitors the opportunity to see. It’s a unique side of the company to add to the display, and it’s fortunate such a huge archive was maintained.
— Farah Abushullaih, head of the Museums Unit at Ithra
The Art of Safety section will see a rotating selection of posters displayed in glass cabinets with an accompanying exhibition board on the origins of the book itself. The current selection highlights the oldest entries in the archive, hand-crafted black-and-white posters from 1948 which were created as single editions in the days before commercial printing was available.
Further selections include a poster from 1962, notable for its print production using just three colors as an effective method to create an impactful message, as well as an edition from the mid-1980s calling for viewers to Keep Fit through sporting figures portrayed in radiant colors and vibrant design.
A value-driven collaboration
“This partnership with Ithra is a valuable recognition of how safety has been central to Aramco, and to our community,” said Ghassan Abulfaraj, Saudi Aramco’s Chief Loss Prevention Engineer. “I am happy that we have been able to bring this piece of history out of our archives and share them in an environment that allows them to be appreciated once again for their message as well as for their contribution to our culture of safety.”
Ithra’s exhibitions attract thousands of visitors each year, and the opportunity for Saudi Aramco and the Art of Safety – and indeed safety in and of itself – to be part of that is both a privilege and a reflection of the importance of Aramco’s safety communications materials in shaping the safety landscape of not only the Company, but the Kingdom.
