Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) has announced its program of summer activities running through June and July. Anchored around its major exhibition Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Art in the Arab World, the program includes curated talks, interactive workshops, and artist-led masterclasses.
The Maknana exhibition, which features over 70 works from more than 40 artists, is themed around four key concepts: Automation, Autonomy, Ripples, and Glitch. It explores how Arab artists have responded to and reshaped emerging technologies through a cultural lens.
Programming kicks off with a talk on June 19 titled Experimental Concepts in Educational Practices of Media Arts, offering a deep dive into how media arts education has evolved in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt, since the early 2000s.
A hands-on masterclass on June 20–21, Ready-Made Dreams – Immersive Narratives, teaches participants how to craft immersive storytelling using archival materials, photographs, text and animation.
More events follow throughout July:
July 3
Talk and Screening: Cartographies of a Future explores 3D scanning in digital photography, featuring short films by ScanLAB Projects.
July 4–5
Memory in Three Dimensions guides attendees through creating 3D scans of personal archives while exploring memory in the digital age.
July 5
Motion Design for Film and Media introduces motion graphics and their cinematic impact, while kids can attend Art Bot to build scribble-generating robots from simple materials.
July 12
Book symposium Rewiring Narratives celebrates the launch of a new edited volume on Arab new media art.
July 17
Traces of Change hosts a conversation around artistic responses to rapid transformation.
July 18
Pixel by Pixel offers an intro to pixel art's cultural evolution, while a concurrent children’s workshop, Art Bot, encourages kids to create kinetic artworks.
July 19
Material as a Narrative Tool masterclass dives into conceptual storytelling through physical materials, and a Sound Sculptors workshop lets kids explore sound through touch-responsive sculptures.
