Richard Wilding

Richard Wilding is a heritage consultant, photographer and film producer, specialising in the promotion of archaeology, history and intangible cultural heritage. He has been working in the Middle East since 2010, leading heritage preservation, documentation and public engagement projects and producing books, exhibitions and documentary films.

Richard is a Trustee of the Mansoojat Foundation, an NGO formed by a group of Saudi women to preserve and promote the Kingdom’s traditional costumes. Since 2010, he has travelled extensively throughout Saudi Arabia, documenting the regional diversity of costumes, crafts and heritage. He produced and edited the book ‘Traditional Costumes of Saudi Arabia’, published in 2021.

Since 2012, Richard has been Creative Director of Gulan, an NGO which promotes Kurdish culture internationally. He has produced several exhibitions and publications about the history and heritage of Iraqi Kurdistan and Northern Iraq as well as the legacy of cultural destruction in the region.

In 2019, Richard co-founded the NGO ‘Eye on Heritage’ as a platform for local filmmakers in north-east Syria to present their intangible cultural heritage to international audiences. Eye on Heritage has established production studios in Urfa, Turkey and Raqqa, Syria for the filming, editing and distribution of videos documenting and promoting the region’s music, poetry and storytelling traditions.

From 2021 to 2024, Richard worked as a heritage consultant with the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia, successfully planning over 40 exhibitions and events relating to cultural heritage and historical subjects in the Kingdom.

In March 2024, Richard was commissioned by Shurooq (Sharjah Investment and Development Authority) to photograph the heritage, archaeology and natural history of the new Mleiha National Park in the Emirate of Sharjah. His photographs now feature in the book ‘Mleiha: Ancient Treasures of the UAE’, published by Assouline and unveiled in November 2024 at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

Richard’s photographs have been shown at numerous exhibitions and events worldwide, including Sharjah International Photography Festival, AlUla International Airport, Courtauld Institute of Art, Royal Society for Asian Affairs, Leighton House Museum, Asia House and the Houses of Parliament, London.

Richard has given lectures at the universities of Cambridge, Exeter, Newcastle, Leicester, Reading and York, and at the University of Al-Qadisiyah, University of Diyala and University of Babylon in Iraq. In 2021, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London in recognition of his work with heritage documentation and preservation in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Syria and Iraq.