‘Aramcorama' at Ithra: A living archive of energy, culture, memory

Arab News

5 days ago

DHAHRAN: 'Aramcorama,' within Ithra's museum, reimagines the exhibition experience, turning the Kingdom's industrial history into a personal and immersive journey.
Rather than simply documenting the rise of the country's oil industry, the exhibition explores how it shaped cities, communities, and modern life.
The Aramcorama exhibition at Ithra explores how the oil industry helped shape cities, communities and modern life in Saudi Arabia. (AN photo)
It encourages visitors to reflect on how past events changed people's sense of identity.
'Aramcorama' tells the story through a rich selection of visuals. Geological maps, handwritten notes, internal messages, and photographs trace nearly a century of growth and change.
• At 'Aramcorama' exhibition, Geological maps, handwritten notes, internal messages, and photographs trace nearly a century of growth and change.
• Visitors can explore how Aramco's global outlook has influenced not only individual lives but also the nation's perspective.
Visitors can explore a timeline highlighting each decade and framed by hanging prints and illuminated media displays. This setup creates an engaging environment that feels dynamic and full of discovery.
The Aramcorama exhibition at Ithra explores how the oil industry helped shape cities, communities and modern life in Saudi Arabia. (AN photo)
Abdullah Alshammasi, a longtime engineer at Aramco, spoke to Arab News about how the company influenced more than just the oil and gas industry and impacted generations of employees and locals.
He said: 'The company certainly had lasting consequences on the earliest generations that worked in it.
Aramco's history is the modern history of the communities that lived in the Eastern Province.
Abdullah Alshammasi, Aramco engineer
'The fact is, since the company was established it needed a knowledgeable workforce, so a campaign of education was also established, and it steadily increased in depth from manual skills to softer, more intellectual skills.'
The exhibition also showcases vintage safety posters that were originally used to display workplace rules. These posters show how design and language have changed over the years, highlighting the changes in style and communication.
The Aramcorama exhibition at Ithra explores how the oil industry helped shape cities, communities and modern life in Saudi Arabia. (AN photo)
This section of the exhibition captures the story's understated honesty, letting ordinary items like posters, letters, and tools tell the story of values, habits, and shifting responsibilities.
As visitors explore the exhibition, they can see how the company's global outlook has influenced not only individual lives but also the nation's perspective.
Alshammasi explained: 'Generations have now been everywhere around the globe, studying at the best institutions, bringing back with them a better sense of the world, widening their horizons and, therefore, our societies and culture.'
'Aramcorama' ultimately reflects how modern Saudi society was built; not just through buildings and oil fields, but also through education, progress, and mindset.
Alshammasi said: 'It tells me that Aramco is as old as our modern lives.'
This fact is especially evident in the Eastern Province, where the company's presence reshaped daily life, and Alshammasi added: 'Aramco's history is the modern history of the communities that lived in the Eastern Province. Their lives were directly affected by the company, for good and for ill.'
The exhibition does not hide that tension, but invites reflection on both progress and its costs, what was gained and what may have been lost.
'Aramcorama' does not ask visitors to celebrate or criticize, but to notice, reflect, and form their own opinions.
It respects the complexity of history and shows how innovation, labor, infrastructure, and community are all deeply connected.