AlUla Arts Festival begins: showcasing new public Art and global artist exhibitions

Friday, February 9, 2024

The third iteration of the AlUla Arts Festival, now known as Art Unframed, is set to enchant attendees from February 9 to March 2, 2024. Spanning 22 days, the festival will unfold within the mesmerizing ancient oasis of AlUla, offering a broad array of events, exhibitions, and creative endeavors.

Since its inception in 2022, the festival has become a staple of the AlUla Moments annual event series, attracting a vibrant assortment of local, regional, and international artists, performers, curators, and collectors, among others.

This year’s festival is notably marked by the unveiling of “Palms in Eternal Embrace” by Obaid Alsafi, the laureate of the Ithra Art Prize, recognized as the most distinguished art accolade in the Middle East and North Africa.”In Eternal Embrace.” This joint effort by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and Arts AlUla for the award’s sixth cycle promotes a partnership dedicated to fostering creativity.across Saudi Arabia and the broader region.

The festival’s theme, “Art in the Landscape,” invited artists to propose public artworks that resonate with AlUla’s distinctive natural and cultural heritage. The chosen installation, set amongst AlUla’s 2.3 million date palms for six weeks, aims to prompt reflections on environmental conservation and highlight the significance of endangered palm trees.

Manal AlDowayan, a pivotal figure in Saudi contemporary art, is featured in the run-up to her “Oasis of Stories” land art commission, set for permanent display in 2026. Meanwhile, the AlUla Arts Festival showcases two related exhibitions in the AlJadidah arts district, exploring various artistic mediums inspired by AlUla’s heritage and landscapes.

The AlUla Artist Residency program underscores AlUla’s burgeoning significance as a hub for cultural and artistic exchange. This year, it presents two exhibitions, “The Shadow Over Everything” and “Unguessed Kinships,” highlighting the creative outputs from its Visual Art and Design Residency programs, running until April 30, 2024.

“AlUla 1445” presents Hassan Hajjaj’s photographic work, capturing local inhabitants in vibrant compositions, while “More than Meets the Eye” offers a contemporary art exhibition that revisits the history and evolution of Saudi art movements through a collection on loan from Saudi collectors.

Desert X AlUla 2024 returns for its third edition, introducing 15 new artworks by Saudi and international artists set against AlUla’s dramatic desert backdrop. This year’s theme, “In the Presence of Absence,” invites contemplation on the unseen aspects of deserts, challenging the notion of these landscapes as voids.

Finally, Design Space AlUla debuts in February 2024, aiming to become a cornerstone for design initiatives in AlUla. The inaugural exhibition, “Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design,” showcases AlUla-inspired designs and hosts a series of educational and collaborative events designed to foster innovation and creativity in design.

« Back to Page

• AlUla 2024 Global Brand Campaign Launched in New York

• ITB Berlin 2024: Rami Almoallim shares Al Ula as a premier location for millennials to rejuvinate

• AlUla Launches Forever Revitalizing Global Brand Campaign: A New Era of Travel

• AlUla’s new virtual quest: Gamers join fight to save Arabian leopards

• Saudi Tourism sees 50% more visitors from India, attends OTM for third time