First Look: Creations for Desert X AlUla 2024 have been unveiled

Often described as an open-air museum of heritage, AlUla will transform into an open-air contemporary art gallery this month.

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Fifteen artworks will be displayed, as artists and creatives from around the world were given the opportunity to create art installations as part of this year's edition of Desert X, each creation representing the artist's interpretation the theme of 'In the Presence of Absence: What cannot be seen?'.

Desert areas are frequently overlooked as barren wastelands, swathes of sand that are perceived to be silent and motionless, yet it is also the expansive desert lands of our nation that hold the secrets of history and serve as tangible evidence of the beauty of the natural environment, untouched.

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So it is agains the backdrop of the red sand desert landscape, and the rocky plateaus of AlUla where these thought-provoking pieces will sit, juxtapose or interact with the natural, unspoiled, desert landscape.

Set in three different locations throughout AlUla: Wadi AlFann, AlManshiyah Plaza and Harrat View Point, Desert X will welcome visitors to wander and enjoy the free, open-air art installations, in one of the most historically significant desert regions in Saudi Arabia. This year's event has beeen curated by Reem Fadda, Raneem Farsi, and Neville Wakefield.

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Raneem Farsi and Neville Wakefield both return as artistic directors for 2024, and the exhibition will be curated by Maya El Khalil and Marcello Dantas. 

Free, from February 9 - March 23,
Various Locations in AlUla
@artsalula @_desertx @baderalsaud
desertx.org

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All images by Lance Gerber, with thanks to Minister of Culture & Governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla, Bader bin Farhan Alsaud and ArtsAlUla