Around three hundred years ago from within the mud brick walls and buildings of Diriyah, an historic town just northwest of modern-day Riyadh, Saudi Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin, known also as Ibn Saud, founded the first Saudi State. These same carefully repaired ruins – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an archaeological treasure trove of homes, royal palaces and defensive towers – are being transformed into Saudi’s new cultural capital, merging the past, marked by the district’s traditional Najdi architectural typology, with modern urbanism, new museums, galleries, cultural centres and creative enterprise.
Diriyah, located along the verdant oasis of Wadi Hanifah, is now rising again as one of the Kingdom’s major giga projects thanks to a government investment of $62.2 billion to develop the area into a leading regional and global hub for lifestyle, tourism, entertainment and culture. From the revitalised area of Al Bujairi, a pedestrianised maze of winding walkways aligned with boutiques, and homegrown and international restaurants and hotels, to JAX, a vibrant hub for artists and creatives where there are also several museums, art galleries and offices for the Saudi Ministry of Culture, this district is vying to become the heart of Saudi’s creative scene.
Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Located amid the numerous warehouses and old mud brick structures of JAX is the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, an institution under the Saudi Ministry of Culture tasked with increasing the Saudi population and the international community’s involvement in and awareness of art by staging art biennales. These include the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, which launched in December 2021, and the Islamic Arts Biennale, which launched in Jeddah in February 2023. The second Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale is currently underway entitled “After Rain” and curated by Artistic Director Ute Meta Bauer, exploring the themes of renewal and revitalisation that take place in human history and in nature through the world of regional, Saudi and international artists. On view until May 24, 2024, the show presents work by Saudi artists Filwa Nazer, Ahmed Mater, Safeya Binzagr, Alia Ahmad and Dana Awartani alongside artists from abroad such as El Anatsui, Hassan Sharif and Hamra Abbas, among others. Visitors can immerse themselves within a variety of mixed media works, including digital and performance, that are both large and small scale, and explore themes that relate to mankind, the natural environment and Saudi’s own present period of great socio-economic transformation.
JAX
One of the hippest places to be in Riyadh, especially if you are in the creative sector, this area is lined with industrial warehouses, many of which are now occupied by artist studios, art galleries, homegrown boutique stores and coffee shops as well as yoga and dance studios. Saudis often call this area, a creative canvas and hub for art and culture in the Kingdom and especially in Riyadh. Located here are the art studios of well-known Saudi artists Muhannad Shono and Ahmed Mater as well as several art galleries, one of which is Athr from Jeddah which has opened another branch of the gallery in Riyadh and also in AlUla. JAX aims to cultivate and enhance the Saudi artistic ecosystem through a variety of creative ventures, including electronic music such as the annual XP Music Futures, workshops, art exhibitions and live talks.
Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMOCA)
The country’s first contemporary art museum, SAMOCA, is comprised of sprawling halls filled with fascinating works of contemporary art and opened in November 2023. Currently on show, the exhibition Into the Night, presents works by more than 30 artists from Saudi Arabia and internationally, including France, India, Japan, Argentina, Morocco and the United Kingdom which explore symbolism and themes from the nighttime, showcasing both its mystery and beauty, as well as its possibilities for imagination and innovation. Of note is the work The Owl (2005) by Bertrand Gadenne; a 15-metre video loop that presents a giant rendition of this nocturnal bird, the artist has endowed him with unpredictable eye movements that present a natural often unseen realm that humans rarely encounter. There’s also Habba (2008-2011), a seven-minute-long video and sound animation by Younes Rahmoun, created through a series of drawn images to tell the story of a seed that grows so big it takes over a planet, represented by a circle. Saudi artist Muhannad Shono’s A Song of Silence (2022) is made from 400 black palm stems and explores the limits of singular narratives through its sinuous curves that reflect waves of movement and direct the viewer up to the sky.
Historical Diriyah Museum
For any visitor to the Diriyah, a walk through the Historical Diriyah Museum is a vital way to learn about the heritage of this centuries-old part of Riyadh and the backstory to the modern Saudi state. Adjacent to At-Turaif and built to emulate the traditional architecture of the surrounding area, Diriyah Museum acts like an open-air museum; the first part sits inside a newly built structure where visitors can see artefacts, handicrafts and other remnants document life 300 years ago. After visiting the various rooms inside, informed with in-depth written text and explanation, as well as traditional items and old architectural remains, walk through the winding pathways around At-Turaif and imagine how life was once within these mud-brick structures.
Diriyah Art Futures
This upcoming new creative centre for the digital arts was announced in December 2023 to serve as a platform for the intersection of art, science and technology. For anyone who loves both art and tech and is eager to explore more, this new Diriyah institution offers a home for New Media arts as well as a place for dialogue, collaboration and research. The centre, which has still to be officially opened, is set to become the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)’s first institution dedicated to New Media Art. At 6,550 square metres, it is designed by Italian architectural form Schiattarella Associati, overlooking At-Turaif, the historic mud brick city.