Ashraf AboArafe
AlUla Arts Festival, under its new slogan, Art Without Borders, kicked off yesterday in its third edition, with a number of events, exhibitions and creative initiatives taking place over 22 days in the picturesque landscape of the ancient AlUla oasis.
AlUla Arts Festival is part of AlUla’s annual calendar of events, which includes a mix of local, regional and international creatives and artists, performers, curators, art collectors and more.
The artist Obaid Al-Safi, winner of the largest artistic award in the Middle East and North Africa (Arab regions), will reveal during the festival his winning work entitled “Palms in an Eternal Embrace.”
This edition of the award is the first to witness cooperation between the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and AlUla Arts, within the framework of a broader partnership between the two parties to combine their efforts with the aim of supporting creativity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region in general.
Wadi Al Fan also presents Manal Al Dowayan, one of the most prominent contemporary artists in the Kingdom, in her new commission, which belongs to land art, and which was titled “Oasis of Stories.” It is an artistic installation in the form of a giant maze inspired by the ancient city of AlUla, which will be installed in a large format. Permanent within the vast desert landscape of AlUla starting in 2026, the days of the AlUla Arts Festival will be punctuated by two adjacent exhibitions – presenting types of drawing arts, ceramics, soft sculptures, paintings and weaving arts, which will be held in the Al Jadida artistic district, in the heart of AlUla.
The first exhibition represents an important step in developing the artistic work “Oasis of Stories,” as hundreds of drawings collected from the artist’s practices and her participation in the workshops she held for the people of AlUla are displayed. These drawings and stories are eventually installed on the walls of the “Oasis of Stories”, allowing the people of AlUla to leave a lasting impact on Wadi Al Fan.
The other exhibition, which is presented in collaboration with Sabrina Amrani Gallery under the title “Their love is like every love, and their death is like every death,” delves deeper into Al Dowayan’s practice, highlighting her artistic works such as: soft sculptures made of tussar silk and printed with images related to AlUla’s heritage; In addition to her maze-like drawings inspired by the ancient city of AlUla and the engraved pottery works made from clay that she collected from various regions of the Kingdom; Parts of the mural depict the “heritage Sadu” fabric, which was used by Bedouin women in ancient times.
AlUla Arts presents two exhibitions for the AlUla Art Residency programme, one of which is the AlUla Fine Art Residency exhibition “And What Remains for Us”, the other is the AlUla Design Residency exhibition “Hidden Wombs”, and they will continue until April 30, 2024, confirming AlUla’s growing role as a center for cultural exchange and artistic innovation in the region.
AlUla Exhibition 1445 presents a collection of photographs by artist Hassan Hajjaj, who is famous for his ability to combine contemporary art, fashion, and cultural identity.
Hajjaj had taken a group of photos of the people of Al-Ula in February 2023 in one of the open studios at the Deira School, where the photos covered various topics that included farmers, sports teams, merchants, craftsmen, and the creative community.
While the “Throw My Eyes” exhibition presents contemporary works by Saudi artists on loan from art collectors in the Kingdom, in Maraya Hall, the exhibition, which was supervised by Dr. Effat Abdullah Al-Faddagh, aims to redefine the history of contemporary art exhibitions in the Kingdom and document the artists’ stories and the role of collectors. The exhibition continues from February 9 to April 27, 2024 and is part of the festive program preceding the official opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art in AlUla.
After holding two exhibitions since 2020, the international open art fair, Desert
This year’s exhibition includes 15 new commissioned works, which are held with the artistic vision of Maya Al-Khalil, Marcelo Dantas and the artistic direction of Raneem Farsi and Neville Wakefield.
The AlUla Design Space was also opened on a trial basis, which is a center for displaying the various design initiatives in AlUla that contribute to the vision of AlUla. The space is located in the Al-Jadida artistic district, providing space for exhibitions, workshops, and archives, and it was designed to enhance cooperation between professionals in the field of design, students, and enthusiasts. Design, in addition to enhancing AlUla’s legacy as a catalyst for creative inspiration and design.
