Monumental art takes over AlUla’s desert

Welcome to Al-Monitor Riyadh.

Monumental contemporary works return to AlUla this week as Desert X opens its fourth edition, drawing on themes inspired by the writings of Khalil Gibran and the desert landscape itself. In Riyadh, veteran Saudi artist Faisal Samra takes center stage in a solo exhibition, exploring the human body and perception through decades of mixed-media exploration. Jeddah, meanwhile, hosts two distinct cultural moments: a group show curated by Ashraf Fayadh that interrogates how truth is constructed through the senses, and the launch of Made in the Red Sea, a new initiative by the Red Sea Museum and the Saudi Museums Commission, developed with designer Ahmed Angawi, aimed at preserving and supporting Red Sea-rooted craftsmanship.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Riyadh's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: ‘Space Without Measure’ Desert X AlUla Opens

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, “Imole Red,” 2025. Desert X AlUla 2026. (Courtesy of Lance Gerber) 

Once again, monumental contemporary artworks grace the desert sands of AlUla, with the opening of the fourth edition of Desert X AlUla 2026.

Presented by Arts AlUla in collaboration with Desert X, the landmark edition brings together works by 11 pioneering Saudi and international artists, spanning disciplines and responding to AlUla’s dynamic desert landscape. The exhibition is a highlight of the fifth AlUla Arts Festival 2026 and part of the pre-opening program of Wadi AlFann, or Valley of the Arts, an emerging global cultural destination for monumental art in AlUla, slated to open in 2028.

"At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will encounter an extraordinary diversity of artists whose works converse deeply with the land,” said Hamad Alhomiedan, director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), in the opening press release. “From sound and sculpture to living installations and historic forms reimagined, this year’s commissions create spaces that honor AlUla’s heritage while inviting visitors into its present, where the ancient and contemporary meet.”

This edition is curated by Wejdan Reda and Zoe Whitley, with Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi returning as 2026 artistic directors, and features participating artists Sara Abdu, Mohammad Alfaraj, Mohammed AlSaleem, Tarek Atoui, Bahraini-Danish, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Agnes Denes, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Basmah Felemban, Vibha Galhotra and Hector Zamora.

The artworks revolve around the theme “Space without Measure,” inspired by the writings of pioneering Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran, who once described dreams as “space without measure.” The works presented, in dialogue with AlUla’s landscape, reflect Gibran’s meditations on the realm of possibility, human perception and the resilient nature of the human spirit.

Date: Until Feb. 28

Location: DXU26 visitor centre, AlUla 

Find more information here. 

2. Word on the street: Hong

A view of delectable dim sum dishes at Hong in Riyadh. (Courtesy of Hong)  

If you’re craving Chinese food in the Saudi capital, head to Hong, an upscale restaurant serving contemporary Chinese cuisine. Located on the second floor of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Riyadh, the space is defined by opulent interiors, rich red tones and views overlooking the hotel’s pool. The menu spans refined Chinese classics, from delicate dim sum and spicy Sichuan beef to Peking duck, beef tenderloin in black pepper sauce and Kung Pao chicken. The restaurant was recently featured in the MICHELIN Guide Saudi Arabia.

Location: Ritz-Carlton Riyadh

Find more information here. 

3. Riyadh diary

Faisal Samra. “Orange Parachute,” 2004. Mixed media, fabrics and wire mesh. (Courtesy of the artist and Hafez Gallery)

• ‘Other Body,’ by Faisal Samra: 1997-2004

A solo exhibition by Saudi artist Faisal Samra at Hafez Gallery explores the artist’s sustained engagement with the human body and perception. Moving from large, transparent abstract forms that echo bodily contours to ghostly, shadow-like figures rendered through varied materials, Samra contemplates the various realms of human perception and bodily form. The works on view span his practice from 1997 to 2004 and are curated by Frans J. Sterk. 

“A traveling, nomadic spirit evaporates from an earlier series of works called ‘Other Body,’” writes Sterk in the catalogue essay. “Rectangular sheets of fabric, wire mesh, textured skins, mounted on the wall in a simple gesture. Receiving their third dimension by the air coming in. Minimal signs on the surface. Indications, reminiscences of the vast space in which to wander. Memories of walls, carriers of messages reflected in the slanted light, gliding on its sensitive pores.”

The works amalgamate not only various materials but also experiences, memories, dreams, and impressions that, as one progresses in life, mix and merge in a meaningful dance.

Date: Until March 30

Location: Hafez Gallery, JAX District, Riyadh

Find more information here. 

• ‘What No Eye Has Seen,’ curated by Ashraf Fayadh

This group show curated by Palestinian born, Saudi-based artist Ashraf Fayadh explores different facets of the truth marked by human perception. Humans, notes the exhibition’s press release, often rely on vision to form an idea of what is and isn’t real. The works on show challenge this idea and aim to move beyond visual presence to focus on perception through other senses and also intuition. The exhibition further engages with Aristotle’s idea that human perception extends beyond the five senses he identified, suggesting instead a far broader sensory field shaped by the complexity of the nervous system and our ways of interacting with the world.

Participating artists include Abdelkarim Qassem, Arwa Al-Naimi, Fatimah Baazeem, Hussain Muhay, Jasmine Mohammed, Sama Abu Al-Laban and Yazid Al-Dayel.

Date: Until Feb. 5

Location: Wasl Art Space, Jeddah Park, 9060 4th Floor, Aziziyah 2334, Jeddah

Find more information here.

• ‘Made in the Red Sea,’ by the Saudi Museums Commission and Red Sea Museum 

On Jan. 19, the Saudi Museums Commission signed a cooperation agreement with the recently opened Red Sea Museum and Ahmed Angawi Studio to launch the "Made in the Red Sea" craft and design initiative. Participants included General Manager of Partnerships and Business Development at Museums Commission Khaled Baassiri, Director of the Red Sea Museum Eman Zidan, and the founder of Ahmed Angawi Studio, Ahmed Angawi. The launch builds on the work of the Ministry of Culture's Year of Handicrafts 2025 and aims to support and promote local and regional craftspeople by connecting skilled artisans and designers with the Red Sea Museum. Additionally, it seeks to uphold traditional craftsmanship while creating unique products inspired by the rich heritage, traditions and material culture of the Red Sea region.

Location: Jeddah

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: ‘Saudi Arabia's Transformation’

Authored by Turki Faisal Al Rasheed and set for release on March 30, this book explores how Saudi Arabia is redefining itself through sweeping economic diversification, investment in innovation, human development and renewable energy. A recommended book for scholars, policymakers and readers interested in development and Middle Eastern studies, it traces how the kingdom’s transformation is reshaping not only Saudi society but the wider region. 

5. View from Riyadh

Visitors attend the opening of “Of Earth” at Diriyah Art Futures on Jan. 15, 2026. Courtesy of Diriyah Art Futures 

“Of the Earth: Earthly Technologies to Computational Biologies” marks Diriyah Art Futures’ fourth exhibition since its opening in December 2024. Launched on Jan. 15 in Diriyah, Riyadh, and curated by Irini Papadimitriou, director of exhibitions at DAF, the exhibition runs until May 16, 2026, and brings together more than 30 local, regional and international artists to explore how the digital age is reshaping our relationship with the natural world.

6. By the numbers

• Desert X AlUla featured works by 14 artists in its 2020 debut, 15 in 2022 and 17 in 2024. For its latest edition, which has just opened, the exhibition features 11 artists, including 10 newly commissioned site-specific works and a special presentation of five works by a late Saudi modernist.
• AlUla is 22,561 square kilometers, approximately the size of New Jersey.