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Siwar Bandar brings to her role nearly two decades of communication and advisory experience across culture, arts, heritage, development, community engagement and advocacy organizations in Washington D.C., Damascus, Jeddah and Riyadh. As well as being a director at APCO’s Saudi office, she leads the Culture, Arts and Creative Industries sector across Middle East and North Africa. Siwar is passionate about chronicling community stories and preserving oral histories. She has co-authored and has overseen the publication of a coffee-table book “Crafts of Saudi Arabia,” which documented the largest permanent exhibition of local artisanal artwork in the country. She has also appeared in Indigare Travel, speaking about the power of tourism, entrepreneurship, and craft, and has been featured as a speaker on creative industries and bringing artists and artisans to market.
Stories are my passion. Whether it’s reading a graphic novel with my daughters, listening to women communities in AlUla laughing and chatting as they braid palm fronds and make baskets, or watching eager volunteers guide visitors through the historic pathways of old Damascus. There is incredible depth, diversity, and beauty in this region, and I am proud to help tell its story.
Prior to joining APCO, Siwar was communication director for Turquoise Mountain, Saudi Arabia, a royal charity started by His Majesty King Charles III to support traditional craftsmanship across the world, where she successfully designed, delivered and advised on crafts and culture development programmes with the Ministry of Culture, the Royal Commission for AlUla, The Royal Institute for Traditional Arts and The Heritage Commission, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, as well as other private, public and governmental partners. In this capacity, she helped showcase the depth and diversity of Saudi cultural heritage in international and high-profile settings including the G20, E-Visa, and Red Sea Week, and in media outlets such as Harper’s Bazaar. She also led the narrative delivery of the Crafts Village Exhibition, featuring compelling collaborations between contemporary designers and traditional artisans, at the first Saudi International Crafts Week in 2023.
Siwar also held communication posts in leading cultural development and advocacy agencies, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and Rawafad, a cultural development project in Syria. She holds an MA in Communication from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC. and a BA in English Literature form the University of California, Los Angeles.