Richard Wilding is a strategic consultant, writer, photographer and film producer, specialising in international cultural relations, community engagement, and the promotion of heritage and tourism.

Richard has been working in the Middle East since 2004, producing exhibitions, publications, documentary films and events programmes, and directing heritage revitalisation projects. His clients include the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority and the Ministry of Media and Information, Kurdistan Regional Government.

Richard is a Trustee of the Mansoojat Foundation, an NGO formed by a group of Saudi women to preserve the Kingdom’s traditional costumes. Since 2010, he has travelled extensively throughout Saudi Arabia, documenting its rich diversity of costumes, crafts, heritage and archaeology. He co-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.

Richard is currently working on several projects in Iraq, including the preservation of the historic Darb Zubaydah pilgrim road as a joint initiative with the government of Saudi Arabia.