The AlUla Arts Festival has kicked-off, with new large-scale public art commissions and exhibitions by internationally renowned artists. Set amidst the timeless backdrop of the ancient city, the festival, taking place from February 9th to March 2nd, 2024, weaves a rich tapestry of contemporary visual and public art, design, artist residencies, and workshops.
As well as being a historic cultural site, AlUla is at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning arts scene. Arts AlUla is dedicated to creating a culturally enriched place to live and visit, to revive the rich legacy of arts in the region and to create opportunities for the community to experience art as a source of education and enrichment through job creation and skills development.
Highlights include the return of the international open-air art exhibition Desert X AlUla, a special AlUla edition of the largest art prize in the MENA region, Ithra Art Prize, and Manal AlDowayan’s exhibitions in AlJadidah presented by Wadi AlFann.
The festival also marks the opening of Design Space AlUla in the AlJadidah Arts District, a focal point for showcasing AlUla’s wide-ranging design initiatives contributing to the vision for AlUla.
Under its new banner of Art Unframed, the festival returns for its third edition running from 9 February – 2 March 2024, with an expansive programme of events, exhibitions, and creative initiatives taking place across 22 days in the stunning landscape of the ancient oasis of AlUla.
Inaugurated in 2022, and part of the annual AlUla Moments calendar of events, the AlUla Arts Festival features an exciting mix of creatives, including local, regional, and international artists, performers, curators, collectors and more.
Ithra Art Prize
The winner of the largest art prize in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Obaid Alsafi, has unveiled his winning artwork, Palms in Eternal Embrace as part of the Arts Festival. (PICTURED ALSO TOP OF PAGE)… The 6th edition of the annual prize run by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is the first in collaboration with Arts AlUla, as part of a wider partnership between both organisations to combine their respective efforts to support creativity in Saudi Arabia and the wider region.
Launched in 2017, the Ithra Art Prize is the largest art grant in the region, offering Middle East and North Africa (MENA) artists the opportunity to be awarded $100,000, in addition to up to $400,000 in funding to bring their ideas to life.
With a background in computer science, Alsafi’s scientific approach to his creative process investigates the impacts of the unseen on the visible environment and physical realities. His winning Ithra Art Prize submission Palms in Eternal Embrace is a large-scale sculptural installation that posits approaches to protecting the natural world, specifically endangered palm trees — a powerful emblem of Arabian landscapes and heritage.
The installation is made up of over 30 palm trunks that structurally echo the 6,000-year-old Rajajil Columns in the Al Jawf region of Saudi Arabia, an archaeological site that evidences how the changing climate in the Arabian Peninsula led to a transition from nomadism to sedentarism.
The trunks are woven together by a rich blend of locally sourced organic or recycled textiles that draw on the tradition of rope and Leifa making in Saudi Arabia. This roping connecting the trunks comes to symbolise the advanced technologies that could be harnessed to save endangered flora and fauna.
“I am honored to be awarded this year’s Ithra Art Prize and to have the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the importance of safeguarding the natural world in the astounding setting of AlUla’s natural heritage and oasis landscape,” Alsafi said.
Art in the Landscape
This year’s theme Art in the Landscape, called for submissions of public artwork proposals that are site-specific to AlUla and that present interpretations of AlUla’s unique landscapes and natural heritage. The winning large-scale site-specific installation will exhibit for six weeks amid the 2.3 million date palms of the AlUla Oasis, encouraging viewers to reflect on ways to safeguard the natural environment, and bringing attention to endangered palm trees, a compelling symbol of the landscapes and heritage of the Arabian Peninsula.
Wadi AlFann presents Manal AlDowayan, one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant contemporary artists, in the lead-up to her new land art commission, Oasis of Stories, a large-scale labyrinthine installation inspired by AlUla Old Town, which will be permanently placed in AlUla’s monumental desert landscape from 2026. During AlUla Arts Festival, two adjacent exhibitions – featuring drawing, ceramic, soft sculpture, painting and weaving – take place in AlJadidah arts district, at the heart of AlUla’s community.
The first exhibition marks a milestone in the development of Oasis of Stories: on display are hundreds of drawings gathered from the artist’s participatory workshops with communities across AlUla. These drawings and stories will eventually be inscribed into the walls of Oasis of Stories, enabling AlUla’s residents to leave their permanent trace in Wadi AlFann.
A parallel exhibition presented in collaboration with Sabrina Amrani Gallery, titled Their Love Is Like All Loves, Their Death Is Like All Deaths, delves further into AlDowayan’s practice, with works including: soft sculptures made of tussar silk printed with images related to AlUla’s heritage; labyrinth-like drawings inspired by AlUla Old Town; engraved clay works made of mud gathered from across Saudi Arabia; and wall pieces featuring Sadu textile weaving, a technique traditionally used by Bedouin women.
AlUla Artist Residency
Arts AlUla presents two Artist Residency exhibitions, the Visual Art Residency exhibition “The Shadow Over Everything”, and the Design Residency exhibition “Unguessed Kinships”, which will run until 30th April 2024, emphasising AlUla’s emerging role as a focal point for cultural exchange and artistic innovation in the region.
The exhibitions showcase pieces created by international artists and designers invited to participate in the AlUla Artist Residency Programme, founded in partnership with the French Agency for AlUla Development (Afalula). Located in two distinct outdoor venues, the exhibitions will be hosted at Mabiti in The Palm Grove, and Madrasat Addeera.
The AlUla Artist Residency programme exemplifies AlUla’s commitment to becoming a global hub for creative minds, offering multiple programmes this year in visual arts, design, botanical landscaping, heritage, and innovation.
Temporary exhibitions
AlUla 1445 – Featuring images by artist Hassan Hajjaj who is renowned for work that merges contemporary art, fashion and cultural identity. He photographed local people and residents in February 2023 in an outdoor studio at Madrasat Addeera. The subjects include farmers, sports teams, merchants, craftspeople and the creative community.
More than Meets the Eye – an exhibition of contemporary works by Saudi artists on loan from collectors in Saudi Arabia, hosted at Maraya. Curated by Dr. Effat Abdullah Fadag, the exhibition will re-canonise the history of the contemporary art movements in Saudi Arabia, documenting the story of artists and the role of collectors in the development of the art scene. The exhibition will run from 9 February – 27 April 2024 and is part of the pre-opening programme for the future contemporary art museum in AlUla.
With works by pioneering Saudi artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, Mohammed Alsaleem and Mounirah Mously alongside leading contemporary Saudi artists such as Ahmed Mater, Muhannad Shono and Dana Awartani, the exhibition explores connections, influences and shared stories from across generations of Saudi artists.
FROM 9 FEBRUARY – 23 MARCH 2024, UNDER THE THEME OF ‘IN THE PRESENCE OF ABSENCE’, DESERT X ALULA 2024 COMMISSIONS 15 ARTWORKS TO EXPLORE “THAT WHICH CANNOT BE SEEN“
Building on the legacy of Desert X, which takes place in California’s Coachella Valley, Desert X AlUla draws on principles of land art, offering a profound opportunity to experience art on a monumental scale in dialogue with nature.
Desert X AlUla is a collaboration between Desert X and the destination of AlUla established to advance new cultural dialogue through art. The first site-responsive exhibition of its kind in Saudi Arabia, it fosters dialogue and exchange between artists, curators, and international and local communities, shaped by a curatorial vision that takes the desert as its inspiration.
Open to all, the event is a recurring and temporary, site-responsive, international open-air exhibition. This year’s event, under the curatorial vision of Maya El Khalil and Marcello Dantas, with artistic direction from Raneem Farsi and Neville Wakefield, features 15 newly commissioned artworks.
Following two exhibitions since 2020, Desert X AlUla returns for its third edition, placing visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists amidst the extraordinary desert landscape of AlUla. Positioning AlUla as a global destination for experiencing site responsive monumental art, Desert X AlUla invites artists to engage in a dialogue with the landscape, nature and heritage of AlUla to create distinctive works that emerge from the local context and resonate with audiences around the world.
“Positioning AlUla as a global destination for experiencing site responsive monumental art, Desert X AlUla invites artists to engage in a dialogue with the landscape, nature and heritage of AlUla to create distinctive works that emerge from the local context and resonate with audiences around the world.”
Under the theme of In the Presence of Absence, Desert X AlUla 2024 asks “What cannot be seen?” Often dismissed as spaces of emptiness, deserts are rendered mute, static, but there is much more than meets the eye. Artists taking part in Desert X AlUla 2024 are invited to explore ideas of the unseen and the inexpressible. The full list of exhibiting artists:
- Aseel AlYaqoub, b. 1986, Kuwaiti
- Ayman Yossri Daydban, b. 1966, Saudi-Palestinian
- Bosco Sodi, b. 1970, Mexican
- Caline Aoun, b. 1983, Lebanese
- Faisal Samra, b. 1955, Saudi Arabian
- Filwa Nazer, b. 1972, Saudi Arabian
- Giuseppe Penone, b. 1947, Italian
- Ibrahim Mahama, b. 1987, Ghanaian
- Kader Attia, b. 1970, Algerian-French
- Karola Braga, b. 1988, Brazilian
- Kimsooja, b. 1957, South Korean
- Monira Al Qadiri, b. 1983, Kuwaiti
- Nojoud Alsudairi, b. 1994, Saudi Arabian
- Pascal Hachem, b. 1979, Lebanese
- Rana Haddad, b. 1970, Lebanese
- Rand Abdul Jabbar, b. 1990, Iraqi
- Sara Alissa, b. 1990, Saudi Arabian
Desert X AlUla takes place across three locations for the first time, inviting visitors to experience spectacular and varied landscapes as they weave their journey between works. Desert X AlUla works can be seen in the desert landscape of Wadi AlFann, amongst the black lava stone terrain and breathtaking views of Harrat Uwayrid and at the AlManshiyah Plaza, which features the carefully preserved AlUla Railway Station, revealing the many layers of history and cultural confluence you find in AlUla.
All artists visit AlUla and spend time in its landscape; their proposals are then developed from this experience.
Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi turn the landscape into a self-reflective arrangement in Invisible Possibilities: When the Earth Began to Look at Itself. Through different viewpoints and approaches, the work aims to reshape viewers’ understanding of the site’s ecological transition and its physical geographies. As we enter the cylindrical form of Kimsooja’s work, between iridescent walls, visitors are drawn in and out to the center of a spiral. The chromatic walls of To Breathe – AlUla distils light that has travelled aeons into prisms that dance across the visitor and the landscape.
Ayman Yossri Daydban draws the contours of a football pitch with white stones and rocks gathered by the AlUla community from across the valley. Placed in a remote, rocky area, the football field is a mysterious and suspicious presence, provoking collective memory and considering the social role of football. For When I saw my reflection, Bosco Sodi gathered volcanic rocks from across the landscape. Wrapped in gold, they have been placed in rock faces that tower above the desert to draw the viewer’s eyes to the beautiful organic formations and accidents that already exist in the rock formations.
In Caline Aoun’s The Desert Has No Surface, stones from the basalt plateau of Harrat al Sham are polished on one side. The sun is an essential element in Aoun’s work which is activated through the refraction of sunlight producing moments of shimmering that reflect the impermanence of the desert landscape and the natural forces that created it. Rana Haddad and Pascal Hachem’s installation focuses on honouring the traditional crafts of the region, creating a refuge made from rammed earth jars. Dubbed Reveries, each jar in the tower bears geometric cuts, allowing nature and light to shift and cast ever-evolving patterns within.
Also composed of vessels, Ibrahim Mahama’s terracotta pots are scattered across the landscape, suggesting new ecosystems emerging from the relics of history. Mahama’s works can be viewed across Desert X AlUla’s three sites including Dung Bara – The Rider Does No in Wadi AlFann, Hanging Garden at AlManshiyah Plaza and Gabli Din Pali – A Full Gourd Does Not Rattle; It Is Only a Partially Filled Gourd Which Rattles on Harrat Uwayrid. Drawing on AlUla’s legacy on the Incense Route, Karola Braga uses scent to recreate the sensory world of ancient trade. Her structure, Sfumato, engulfs participants in hazy frankincense and myrrh, inviting visitors to reconnect with the olfactory heritage of the route in a unique and immersive encounter.
Aseel AlYaqoub’s Weird Life: An ode to desert varnish is inspired by the ‘desert varnish’ that naturally appears in landscapes like AlUla’s, evolving into a luminous veneer with yellow, orange, red and black, and bemusing scientists for centuries.
Inspired by pre-Islamic beliefs of jinn inhabiting the desert, Filwa Nazer’s elevated walkway of Preserving Shadows is structured using steel mesh to form a massive, undulating black snake. Elaborated into massive, outsized forms, Monira Al Qadiri’s W.A.B.A.R. echoes mysterious objects that perplexed inhabitants of the desert in the 1930s. The work summons a cosmic folk narrative where upon discovering the pearls, a community in the Empty Quarter believed they had an extraterrestrial origin.
Rand Abdul Jabbar’s Where myths are born of mud and desire, is situated in an alcove in the mountain valley, its five sculptural forms telling the story of Venus. While encountering each piece through the story, the visitor becomes immersed in ancient perspectives and shifting relations to the celestial. In The Dot, Faisal Samra shows how the Wadi AlFann valley originated from an ancient crack, revealing the small forces that shape grandeur over epochs. The illusion of time is symbolised by a line composed of rock fragments.
Giuseppe Penone’s The Logic of the Vegetal – Metamorphosis explores the cyclical nature of all life. Fossilised tree trunks hover between living organism and mineral state, encouraging visitors to reflect on the transformations that occur over time. Necks of glass bottles emerge from Kader Attia’s sculptures in Whistleblower, which whistle when open to the wind. The haunting sound that results encourages viewers to reflect on the concern we should all have for Earth.
An extensive programme of events for visitors and local communities is taking place during Desert X AlUla. This will include curator and artist talks, primary school visits and art workshops on themes from collage and model making to print making and photography. Music events taking place during Desert X AlUla include traditional Saudi dance, ambient compositions, and live radio broadcasts.
For the first time, Desert X AlUla has offered a special commission which is realised by Tino Sehgal. Sehgal’s work (untitled), emphasises the interaction between the natural elements of the desert and the human intervention through movement and sound, creating a connection between the visitor, the environment, and the intangible aspects of experience and imagination.
What the organisers say…
Maya El Khalil, Curator, Desert X AlUla 2024, said: “The region of AlUla is monumental. Formed of inconceivable spans of time and space, the urge is to meet it with imitations of similar size and impact. But the reality is, human efforts struggle to match the grandeur sculpted here. We challenged the artists participating in Desert X AlUla 2024 to adjust their perspective to encounter the unseen aspects of the place with reverence, attuning to the forces, rhythms and processes that shape the landscape in imperceptible ways. In response to this, the artists have developed innovative and dynamic works that address profound topics such as trade, migration and time that are relevant to the region and connect with the wider world.”
Marcello Dantas, Curator, Desert X AlUla 2024, said: “The desert, often perceived as a place of emptiness, gradually unveils its intricate layers of existence as one immerses in it. Desert X AlUla invites artists to create original works with a unique canvas on an unprecedented scale. As visitors explore Desert X AlUla, they’ll discover that in times of uncertainty, when the tangible is elusive, nothing is more real than the presence of the invisible. We invite visitors to encounter the limitless boundaries of imagination and discover the profound forces that silently shape our world.”
Raneem Farsi, Artistic Director, Desert X AlUla 2024, said: “Taking place across three sites for the first time, this edition of Desert X AlUla will fully immerse visitors in the heritage, nature and landscape of AlUla. A crossroads of trade and culture for centuries, projects like Desert X AlUla continue AlUla’s legacy as a place of cultural exchange and dialogue. The last two editions of Desert X AlUla in 2020 and 2022 proved how AlUla’s landscape and community can inspire artists to create works that resonate with audiences around the world.”
Nora Aldabal, Executive Director of Arts AlUla, said: “In AlUla, we are working towards building the next chapter of art history. Through arts initiatives such as Desert X AlUla, artists are invited to collaborate not only with other artists, but with the spectacular landscape and heritage of AlUla itself. This edition of Desert X AlUla with its striking artworks and educational and cultural programming underlines the value of arts and creativity as essential and transformative layers for enriching society, economy and quality of life.”
Opening of Design Space AlUla
Design Space AlUla, the premier permanent exhibition venue dedicated to highlighting AlUla’s diverse design initiatives, also officially opened its doors this month. Situated in the vibrant AlJadidah Arts District, this dynamic and inclusive space aims to foster collaboration across the design spectrum, coinciding with the AlUla Arts Festival. Design Space AlUla stands as a testament to AlUla’s commitment to becoming a hub of creative inspiration and design, offering spaces for exhibitions, workshops, and archives. Its inaugural showcase, “Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design,” sets the tone for its mission to connect and support design professionals, students, and enthusiasts alike.
Under the guidance of curator Sara Ghani, Design Space AlUla endeavors to engage with both emerging and seasoned design talents from around the globe. By offering a platform to explore design principles and creative processes through AlUla’s unique cultural and natural landscapes, the space embraces all design disciplines, including architecture, urban planning, product, and graphic design. The facility itself, a modern marvel of corten steel, glass, and polished concrete designed by Giò Forma Studio, pays homage to the local architectural heritage while promoting sustainability and innovation.
The inaugural exhibition, “Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design,” showcases the design thinking behind ten recent AlUla-inspired projects in design, architecture, and urban planning. Featured projects reflect a deep respect for AlUla’s environment and heritage, from the mirror-clad Maraya venue by Giò Forma Studio/Black Engineering to the eco-conscious Azulik Eco Resort by Roth Architecture. The exhibition also highlights contributions from AlUla Design Award finalists and residents, showcasing a breadth of design talent and vision.
Design Space AlUla’s visual identity, crafted by Clara Sancho Studio and 29Letters, draws from AlUla’s rich tapestry of historical inscriptions and architectural elements, encapsulating the essence of the region’s design heritage. The space not only serves as a showcase for contemporary design but also as a repository and workshop for aspiring designers, ensuring a vibrant and sustainable future for the design community in AlUla and beyond.
Ghani emphasises the space’s role in celebrating AlUla’s natural and cultural heritage, fostering sustainable design practices that are deeply rooted in the local context. With a comprehensive launch programme featuring keynotes, workshops, and design tours, Design Space AlUla establishes itself as a cornerstone for knowledge exchange and innovation in design, enriching the AlUla Arts Festival and inviting visitors to immerse themselves in the transformative power of design.
The inaugural exhibition, Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design, introduced the design thinking process behind 10 recent AlUla-inspired designs across design, architecture and urban planning. The launch programme, which took place between 15 – 17 February 2024, included keynote presentations, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions and design tours
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