Desert X AlUla has just announced its return in 2024 in the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. Marking the significant highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival, Desert X AlUla is a transient, site-responsive, and inclusive open-air art exhibit that takes place bi-yearly in the desert region of the country. Launching on February 9th and continuing until March 23rd, 2024, this edition is curated by Maya El Khalil, renowned for her art advisory and MENA-focused curation, and Marcello Dantas, an award-winning curator known for his interdisciplinary practices.
Themed “In the Presence of Absence,” this edition of Desert X AlUla challenges the conventional perception of “deserts as empty spaces,” asking the question, “What cannot be seen?” In fact, the curators invite all artists to explore the unseen and inexpressible, engaging with subtle forces that inadvertently shape the landscape. Through acknowledging the subtle effects of time, wind, light, and the rich fabric of mythology and history woven across the region, the artists’ creations seek to provide different viewpoints.
A collaboration between Desert X and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the event showcases contemporary works by Saudi and international artists. Overall, the event represents a pioneering effort to foster cultural dialogue throughout Saudi Arabia, primarily around art. The region’s natural heritage will serve as a canvas for these diverse artworks. Additionally, drawing on the principles of land art and building upon the legacy of Desert X in California’s Coachella Valley, the display aims to provide a unique opportunity to experience art seamlessly intertwined with nature.
Home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, built by the Nabateans over 2,000 years ago, the AlUla region is seen as a crossroads of artistic and cultural exchange. To that, AlUla is set to become the heart of Saudi Arabia’s blossoming arts and culture scene. Desert X AlUla has played a pivotal role in revitalizing this artistic initiative, which is due to open in AlUla in 2026. Titled “Wadi AlFann,” this 65 sq km site is set to become a global destination for monumental, site-specific, permanent land art. This is one example of RCU’s vision for artistic and cultural dialogue in the landscape.
The bi-annual festival is set against the desert backdrop of AlUla’s oasis, showcasing the ancient city located in Saudi Arabia, which is emerging as a cultural hub for the country’s flourishing art scene. Moreover, Desert X AlUla serves as an effort to revive the region’s artistic legacy, creating opportunities for community engagement through art as a source of education. Works for Desert X AlUla 2020 by Sherin Guirguis, Lita Albuquerque, Manal AlDowayan, Superflex, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, and Nadim Karam have been acquired by RCU, some of which are on view at Habitas, AlUla. Additionally, works from Desert X AlUla 2022 by Dana Awartani, Alicja Kwade, Monika Sosnowska, Sultan Bin Fahad, Khalil Rabah, Shezad Dawood, and Serge Attukwei Clottey have been acquired by RCU, some of which are also on display. Jim Denevan’s work for Desert X AlUla 2022 also remains in its original location, where it is designed to dissipate naturally.
Finally, Desert X AlUla will be a highlight of the larger AlUa Arts Festival. During the festival, exhibitions of modern and contemporary works by Saudi artists will be presented by the Contemporary Art Museum, AlUla. At AlUla’s mixed-use creative hub, Madrasat Addeera, there will also be hands-on workshops on crafts such as palm weaving, pottery, jewelry, geometry, and textiles. The festival aims to immerse visitors in a vibrant celebration of contemporary visual and public art, artist residencies, and curated cinema.
Last year, Desert X 2023 explored environmental and social focus through newly commissioned artistic installations in the Coachella Valley. The year before, Desert X AlUla 2022 featured 15 contextual installations across the Saudi Arabian desert that explore "ideas of mirage and oasis." In 2022, the new cultural destination in Wadi AlFann unveiled its first permanent large-scale installation by some of the world’s most compelling contemporary artists.
