The AlUla Arts Festival 2026 is now under way, marking the fourth edition of a programme that has grown into one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant contemporary cultural platforms.
Writing on LinkedIn, Melanie de Souza, Chief Marketing Officer at AlUla, described the festival as having evolved into “far more than an annual program”, adding that it has become “a defining lens through which AlUla shares its evolving artistic soul with the world”.
At its core, the festival reflects AlUla’s historic role as a crossroads of civilisations. As de Souza notes, the destination has long been “a place where ideas, aesthetics, and creative voices have converged for millennia, shaped by trade routes, pilgrimage paths, and the intersection of cultures across continents”.
Desert X AlUla returns to the global stage
A major highlight of the 2026 programme is the return of Desert X AlUla, reinforcing AlUla’s growing stature on the international contemporary art circuit.
De Souza said the team was “especially delighted to welcome back Desert X AlUla”, noting that its presence “further cements AlUla’s standing on the global map for contemporary art in the landscape”.
With origins linked to the Coachella Valley in California, Desert X brings what de Souza described as “a bold, international sensibility”, transforming AlUla’s desert environment into “an open-air showcase for site-responsive artistic works”.
Design, residency and emerging voices
Alongside Desert X, the AlUla Design Exhibition at Design Space AlUla forms another key pillar of the festival. The exhibition highlights work produced through the Artists Residency Program and the AlUla Design Awards, underlining the destination’s commitment to nurturing creative talent as well as hosting global names.
According to de Souza, the exhibition “spotlights outstanding work” emerging directly from AlUla’s expanding creative ecosystem.
Arduna: a first glimpse of AlUla’s contemporary art museum
Looking beyond the current festival, 2026 also offers what de Souza described as “a tantalizing glimpse into the future” with the opening of Arduna on 1 February.
Meaning “our land” in Arabic, Arduna launches as part of the pre-opening programme for AlUla’s forthcoming contemporary art museum. The exhibition brings Saudi artistic voices into direct dialogue with works by internationally renowned masters, including Pablo Picasso, David Hockney and Wassily Kandinsky.
This landmark exhibition is made possible through a partnership with Centre Pompidou in France, signalling AlUla’s deepening ties with leading global cultural institutions.
A dialogue between past and present
Threaded through the festival’s exhibitions and programmes is what de Souza described as “a shared sense of collective creativity and human connection”, echoing AlUla’s ancient role as a meeting point of civilisations.
“Few places in the world offer such a profound dialogue between heritage and contemporary expression,” she wrote, highlighting landscapes that “have inspired storytellers, artisans, and artists for thousands of years”.
As AlUla continues to position itself as both a heritage destination and a platform for contemporary creativity, the Arts Festival 2026 underscores how culture is becoming a central pillar of the destination’s international identity — not as a seasonal attraction, but as a long-term, evolving narrative.
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Photos courtesy of Royal Commission for AlUla
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Read also: Melanie de Souza: driving AlUla’s global recognition with vision, heritage, and innovation
