Arte e Cultura
Arts AlUla unveils the latest major art project: the Safar art collection at AlUla's International Airport
A long-standing place of passage, AlUla has always welcomed traders, merchants and pilgrims who have – for millennia – portrayed their experiences of AlUla's spectacular cultural landscape through literature and art. The art collection continues this legacy, linking the narratives of the past through the contemporary perspectives of artists of our time: a journey through the airport and a journey through AlUla's past heritage and future vision.
The collection was conceived by The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and facilitated by Capsule Arts, presenting work by significant Saudi and international artists such as , and (all of whom have a longstanding relationship with Arts AlUla) as well as emerging artists such as , and .
Speaking to Arts AlUla's vision for a new - and local - creative community, works by the 10 Saudi artists and 6 regional artists sit alongside those by , the first Art and Design Center in AlUla which offers craft programmes for local artisans. In a piece entitled , artisans from Madrasat Addeera investigate the Order of Nature as a design tool and how language is intrinsic to traditional arts and cultures. Their paintings all mirror the same underlying square grid pattern (the basis of textile techniques such as Al Sadu weaving: a new addition to UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage) but feature different patterns that originate from the varied traditional crafts that span the region.
's artworks are in dialogue with AlUla's unique physical and cultural landscape. Two sculptures by Shaikha Al Mazrou reference local rock engravings in a deep brick orange resin, while two framed diptychs by Dana Awartani continue the heritage narrative through intricate traditional patterns inspired by aerial views of AlUla's famous heritage sites. Meanwhile, Farah Behbehani's embroidered textiles serve as an ode to the community of AlUla through a local craft, and Ranim Halaky's is a striking typographic raw steel installation that has been created in collaboration with the community, presenting their voice in sculptural form.
Alongside this, the work of emerging artists such as Stephanie Neville , Sandrah Boutros and Nidanin Woodwork is presented as a contemporary cabinet of curiosities in the Executive Terminal Library. This includes works inspired by AlUla's rich heritage of textile and crafts, alongside photography from The Royal Commission for AlUla's archive that depict the surrounding landscapes.
Commenting on the project, Nora Aldabal, Executive Director, Arts and Creative Industries for the Royal Commission for AlUla said,
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Located 1,100km from Riyadh , in North-West Saudi Arabia , AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years covering the periods when the Lihyan, Dadan, and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of more than 100 well-preserved tombs with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement. Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after conquering the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is home to fascinating historical and archaeological sites. These include:
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by the royal decree in July 2017 to protect and safeguard AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in North-West Saudi Arabia . RCU is embarking on a long-term plan to develop and deliver a sensitive, sustainable transformation of the region, reaffirming it as one of the country's most important archaeological and cultural destinations and preparing it to welcome visitors from around the world. RCU's development work in AlUla encompasses a broad range of initiatives across archaeology, tourism, culture, education and the arts, reflecting the ambitious commitment to cultivating tourism and leisure in Saudi Arabia , outlined in Vision 2030.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance, presenting the art of our time, and shaping a future propelled by creativity.
AlUla has long been a consistent and ever-evolving hub of cultural transfer. It has been a place of passage, a crossroads for trade, and home to successive civilizations who carved, sculpted and inscribed their lives into the landscape. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Throughout 2022, Arts AlUla will bring to fruition a series of new initiatives, projects and exhibitions. The artwork curation will speak to RCU's vision for the continued development of AlUla's contemporary art scenes: positioning the arts as a key contributor to AlUla's character, the quality of life for its local community and the region's economic future.
Arts AlUla focuses on transferring the talents of the Saudi nation and the local AlUla community into meaningful long-standing social and economic opportunities. This is a key part of the Journey through Time masterplan bringing together the 15 different landmark destinations for culture, heritage and creativity across AlUla.
AlUla International Airport is a newly-renovated airport and the gateway to AlUla. Just 35km (a 30-minute drive) from AlUla city centre, the airport opens AlUla to a global community. Visitors can fly to AlUla International Airport with Saudia Airlines, FlyDubai and FlyNas. International arrivals from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Dubai International Airport, Kuwait International Airport and Cairo International Airport; domestic arrivals from Riyadh , Jeddah and Damman.
The airport is 2.4 million square meters and comprises an Executive Terminal and Commercial Terminal. Together these terminals have a total capacity of 400,000 passengers.
For more information, interview requests or press trip enquiries, please contact Caroline Blake or Rosie Stamp at Flint Culture:
caroline.blake@flint-culture.com / rosie.stamp@flint-culture.com
+44 7721 859 847 / +44 7870 556947
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