The AlUla Arts Festival in Saudi Arabia kicked off on Feb. 13 and will feature daily events and exhibitions until March 31. Whether it’s works from international or local artists, the festival hosts it all and invests heavily in beautiful displays such as Desert X AlUla 2022.
Desert X AlUla 2022
This is only the second time Desert X AlUla 2022 and it’s a must-see event that will be held for years to come.
Massive artworks and pieces are incorporated into the landscape around Saudi Arabia’s famous AlUla desert in a mesh between art and nature.
Specifically, Desert X AlUla 2022 features newly commissioned pieces by 15 artists from around the world.
The works are all designed around the theme of mirages and oases in addition to the culture and history tied to the world's deserts.
Some pieces address the relationship between human-made works and the natural world, and others quite literally reflect the nature surrounding it.
For example, consider the sculpture from Saudi artist Shadia Alem. Alem’s chrome, otherworldly sculpture mirrors its AlUla desert surroundings. Alem also uses geometric shape and craftsmanship to reference Saudi Arabia’s nature and culture in literature and mathematics.
And While Alem’s piece reflects nature, Ghana-based artist Serge Attukwei Clottey contrasts it with a sprawling piece at Desert X AlUla 2022.
Clottey’s installation hangs from a mountainside, covering the rock in a yellow shroud of plastic containers known as kufuor gallons that are used in Ghana for transporting and storing water.
Clottey’s piece addresses the experience of globalization, migration and water equity in addition to humanity’s impact on the environment.
Then you have more abstract pieces at Desert X AlUla 2022 like those of Swiss artist Claudia Comte. Comte’s work features a line of towering white walls covered in black patterns jutting out of the desert sand.
#Alula#DesertX#OutdoorArt pic.twitter.com/D7cL3eweJc
— WAQAS AHMED (@AhmedWaqas21) February 14, 2022
It catches the eye, and although the patterns mimic lines in the sand drawn naturally by the wind, it's an art installation that stands distinctly from the Desert X AlUla 2022 surroundings.
But with over a month of festivities taking place at Desert X AlUla 2022, don’t take our word for it. Travel to the event and see for yourself what this global lineup of artists has brought to Saudi Arabia’s desert.
