ALULA, Saudi Arabia, January 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the historic fourth edition of the biennial international outdoor exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in northwest Saudi Arabia, cements its position on the global stage as a dynamic and emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region’s first public art biennial and a highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 renowned artists whose diverse works reflect a wide range of ideas, materials and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sonic explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships with AlUla’s distinctive environment, reinforcing Desert X AlUla’s reputation as a globally significant platform for site-relevant land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as the cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Organized by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, under the artistic direction of Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores “Space without measure”. Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme encourages contemplation of the imagination in the natural settings of AlUla. The exhibition, located in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as Wadi AlFann’s pre-opening program, providing a crucial insight into AlUla’s plans to create a permanent land art “Valley of the Arts.”
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts and Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: “At Desert These compelling commissions highlight AlUla’s dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. and is an integral part of AlUla’s positioning in the global contemporary art dialogue and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann.
Participating artists/artworks are:
- Sarah Abdu, A kingdom where no one dies: resonance contours
- Mohammed Alfaraj, What was the question again?
- Mohammed Al Saleem, The thorn, the AlShuruf unity, the triangles, Flower bud, And Al Ahilla (courtesy of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh)
- Tarek AtouiThe song of water
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Marie-Madeleine Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnès Denés, The living pyramid
- Ibrahim El Salahi, Haraza tree
- Basmah Felemban, Whisper of stones
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Hector Zamora, Take HyPar
For more information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of the 11 artists and their works are available here.
About AlUla and AlUla Arts
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place with extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561 km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to the times of the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms.
AlUla’s best known and recognized site is Hegra, the main southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan kingdoms and considered one of the most developed cities on the Arabian Peninsula in the 1st millennium BCE, as well as Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library containing hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick houses, was developed at least in the 12th century and has been revitalized to become a vibrant center for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters of a millennium of artistic creation – celebrating cultural heritage and shaping a future inspired by artists built like artists. Arts AlUla’s work seeks to preserve this heritage: merging the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts at the heart of the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning ‘Valley of Arts’, will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiled from 2028, where landmark works by artists from around the world will be permanently installed in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-western Saudi Arabia.
SOURCE Royal Commission for AlUla
