Her Royal Highness Princess Noura bint Saud bin Naif Al Saud is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rukun and Co-Founder of AlMashtal. With a background in art, design, and media, HRH Princess Noura studied in London before completing a Master’s in Contemporary Design at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and an Executive Leadership Program at THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam.
Since 2013, she has worked across Saudi Arabia’s cultural and creative sectors, developing initiatives that connect creativity with strategy, entrepreneurship, cultural production, and economic opportunity. She founded Rukun as a design studio, which has since evolved into a cultural systems and infrastructure design platform working across research, strategy, program architecture, and sector development. In 2019, HRH Princess Noura co-founded AlMashtal, a creative infrastructure platform in Riyadh that supports creative practitioners through programs, production facilities, workshops, memberships, and access to knowledge, tools, and community. AlMashtal was created to address a gap she experienced firsthand: the need for stronger pathways, spaces, and support systems that help creators move from ideas to sustainable practice.
Through Rukun and AlMashtal, HRH Princess Noura has contributed to initiatives in design, cultural entrepreneurship, creative economy development, and institutional programming. Her work focuses on strengthening the conditions that allow creative talent to grow, participate in the economy, and contribute meaningfully to Saudi Arabia’s cultural future.
HRH Princess Noura believes that culture and creativity are not only expressions of identity, but forms of infrastructure. Her work is rooted in the belief that local talent, heritage, and knowledge already hold deep value, and that with the right systems, access, and opportunities, they can shape lasting economic, social, and cultural impact.