Tuwaiq Sculpture returns to Riyadh

Welcome to AL-MONITOR Riyadh.

Recent exhibitions and public art installations across Saudi Arabia this month reflect themes of water, memory and place. The latest edition of Tuwaiq Sculpture invites artists to respond to the kingdom’s desalination industry — the source of nearly 70% of its potable water — and encourage works that explore the relationship between technology and survival in an arid landscape. Meanwhile, a new exhibition by Sara Abdu at ATHR Gallery in AlUla examines how everyday domestic objects can act as repositories of memory and belonging. In Riyadh, the seventh edition of the Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race, takes place this weekend ahead of Ramadan.

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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: Tuwaiq Sculpture returns

A view of works by Irena Posner at Tuwaiq Sculpture 2026. (Photo courtesy of Tuwaiq Sculpture)

Returning for its seventh edition under the theme “Traces of What Will Be,” Tuwaiq Sculpture presents new works by artists from Saudi Arabia and around the world. Curated this year by Lulwah Al Homoud, Rut Blees Luxemburg and Sarah Staton, the exhibition brings together 25 artists whose sculptures explore transformation both as a physical process and as a metaphor for urban renewal.

Tahlia Street marks the site of Riyadh’s first desalination plant, a pioneering piece of infrastructure that transformed scarcity into sustenance by converting saltwater into potable water. Saudi Arabia’s desalination story dates back to 1907, when a salvaged coal-powered condenser from a shipwreck, known as Al-Kandasa, was installed in Jeddah to supply fresh water. From these early experiments, the kingdom went on to become the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, a technology that now sustains communities in coastal cities across the globe.

Tuwaiq Sculpture’s choice of Tahlia Street, home to the headquarters of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, underscores themes of adaptability, collective wellbeing and innovation. This year’s symposium invites artists to respond to a site defined by technological transformation and environmental resourcefulness.

“The theme invites us to see change not as a single moment, but as something that builds over time,” said Sarah Alruwayti, director of Tuwaiq Sculpture, during her opening speech. “Along Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street — previously known as Tahlia — artists worked with granite stone and reclaimed metal from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, materials that carry memory and possibility.”

Since its launch in 2019, Tuwaiq Sculpture has staged six editions and engaged over 120 international sculptors with the aim of promoting new dialogues reflective of Riyadh Art’s vision for cross-cultural dialogue and the enrichment of Saudi Arabia’s cultural scene.

“Every cut and every mark leaves a trace,” Alruwayti continued. “Together, these traces speak of both what has been made and what is still to come.”

Date: until Feb. 22

Location: Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street (Tahlia Street)

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Crazy Pizza

A delicious thin-crust pizza at Crazy Pizza Riyadh. (Photo courtesy of Crazy Pizza)

The popular pizzeria, known for its “crazy” thin-crust and yeast-free pizzas served in a dynamic ambiance, has opened a new branch in Riyadh to complement its existing locations in the Diplomatic Quarter. The restaurant, which originally comes from Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy, is known for elevating pizza-making into a fine-dining experience. Top pizza picks include the creamy burrata pizza, spicy salami pizza, calzone and specialty options such as zucchini flowers or smoked salmon. Don’t forget to try Crazy Pizza’s fresh, homemade mozzarella.

Location: Prince Muhammad Ibn Abd Al Aziz, As Sulimaniyah

Find more information here.

3. Riyadh diary

A view of the opening of “Intimate Architectures of Belonging.” (Photo courtesy of ATHR Gallery Jeddah)

• ‘Intimate Architectures of Belonging’ by Sara Abdu

Exploring notions of home and memory through architectural forms made from impermanent materials, Saudi artist Sara Abdu reflects on the quiet rituals and subtle traces that shape belonging in her current solo exhibition at ATHR Gallery’s AlUla space. Arranged like a landscape of objects that appear both architectural and spectral, the installation presents structures and elements drawn from everyday life. Upon entering, visitors encounter the warm, grounding fragrance of bukhoor emanating from wall-mounted cubes, set beside a floor composed of compressed henna tiles — a surface so fragile it could disappear with a single brush. An anthropomorphized, melancholic figure named July also appears in the exhibition. Through these varied forms, Abdu traces ideas of belonging shaped by rupture, inheritance and the rituals that tether individuals to place.

Date: until May 2

Location: ATHR Gallery, AlUla

Find more information here.

• ‘Here, Now’ by Asma Bahmim

Curated by Noran Reda, this solo exhibition of works by Saudi artist Asma Bahmim explores emotional density and quiet uncertainty. The show centers around Bahmim’s “Circle Star” from the “Nebula” series, offering a space where meaning remains unresolved and feelings exist without clear definition. Drawing on Islamic miniature traditions, the works evoke a state of suspension shaped by tension and anticipation. Beneath the calm surface lies an underlying pressure, suggesting that transformation and perhaps renewal are on their way.

Date: until April 30

Location: ATHR, Jeddah

Find more information here.

• The Saudi Cup weekend returns

Now in its seventh edition, the Saudi Cup, established in 2020, will return this weekend with a dynamic program of live music, entertainment and a cultural exhibition on the history of horses in the kingdom. Organized by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, the two-day international racing event is headlined by the Group 1 $20 million Saudi Cup — the world’s most valuable horse race — run over 1,800 meters (just over a mile) on dirt. The Saudi Cup weekend racecards offer a total prize purse of $39.6 million and feature dirt and turf races showcasing some of the world’s highest-caliber racehorses. Friday’s racing includes the International Jockeys Challenge, where seven female and seven male jockeys compete as individuals across four races.

Date: Feb. 13-14

Location: King Abdulaziz Racetrack, Riyadh

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: ‘Petroleum Art: The Journey of the Oil Revolution’ 

“Petroleum Art: The Journey of the Oil Revolution” pays tribute to the kingdom’s transformation following the discovery of oil, tracing how the industry has shaped Saudi Arabia’s development. Released in June 2024, the book offers a rich visual exploration of the country’s petroleum history through photography and archival perspectives.

The volume arrives in a wooden crate with an accompanying easel. Spanning 164 pages and featuring 96 illustrations, the exceptionally large-format book measures approximately 41.5 × 33 inches in size and weighs more than 50 pounds. With an introduction by Bader Al Samari and photography by Jeanette Hagglund and Saleh Ahmed Alhuthloul, it takes readers on an immersive journey through Saudi Arabia’s petroleum facilities and their distinctive architecture.

5. View from Riyadh

Saudi artist Mohammed Al Hamdan performs during the opening day of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026. (Photo by Alessandro Brasile, courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation) 

6. By the numbers

• Inaugurated in 2020, the Saudi Cup is held annually at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh and features a substantial prize pool that has grown from $29.2 million in its first year to nearly $40 million as of 2026.
• The record for most wins by a trainer is held by Japan's Yoshito Yahagi, who won in 2023 and 2025.