Return of Desert X Leads an Exhilarating AlUla Arts Festival

AlUla is the kind of place that feels mythic in scale—and even standing within it, the magnitude can be difficult to grasp. Set in northwest Saudi Arabia, about an hour’s flight from Riyadh, the desert landscape unfolds as one of the region’s most visually arresting and historically layered environments. Long before the arrival of contemporary art pilgrims, this was a vital crossroads of the ancient Incense Road, where trade routes carried not only goods but the ideas and cultural exchange that helped shape early civilizations. Monumental sandstone formations rise like natural sculptures, a verdant oasis cuts through the arid terrain, and nearby Hegra—Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site—preserves carved tombs and archaeological traces dating back millennia. In AlUla, art is not simply displayed; it is embedded in the land.

AlUla’s contemporary art era began in 2017 with the establishment of the Royal Commission for AlUla, initiating an ambitious cultural transformation that carefully threads together heritage and forward-looking artistic vision. Collaborations such as the biennial Desert X AlUla, the announcement of Wadi AlFann—a vast permanent land-art valley slated to begin construction in 2028—and an evolving partnership with Paris’s Centre Pompidou have steadily positioned AlUla as a rising global destination for art and culture.

Like the desert that surrounds it, the landscape here is in constant motion. Luxury hospitality projects are taking shape (Banyan Tree, Habitas, and Cheda Hegra are open; Aman, Azulik, Six Senses, and Marriott are in development), international chefs (Alain Ducasse and Jason Atherton) are arriving for engagements, and plans for a landmark contemporary art museum continue to gain momentum. Each winter, the AlUla Arts Festival becomes the focal point of that energy, drawing curators, collectors, artists, and devotees from around the world.

The 2026 edition marked its most expansive moment yet (in 2022, there were 19,000 visitors; by 2025, more than 70,000) and offered a compelling glimpse of AlUla’s past, present, and future. “It’s just three words: nature, heritage, and art,” says Hamad Alhomiedan, arts and creative industries director at the Royal Commission for AlUla. “We see art as a pillar that connects different elements. We believe that AlUla is a destination built by artists, for artists.”

A Festival Defined by Both Artists and Audience

“We have global blue-chip artists participating in the festival. We also have emerging artists and emerging designers who are here for the first time. They’re being given an equal platform here,” says Sumantro Ghose, artistic programming director for arts and creative industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla. “We definitely have a core audience: people who are art and culture enthusiasts. But what we also capture here is people who come for the destination, the cultural heritage and nature, and then also discover art through that. Because this is a unique festival that’s defined by place, landscape and culture, it is like nothing else.”

A Contemporary Art Museum Begins to Take Shape

Among the season’s defining milestones was the formal unveiling of the name for the AlUla Contemporary Art Museum, introduced alongside its inaugural exhibition, “Arduna,” on view through April 15.

The exhibition, which translates to “our land” in Arabic, reflects on humanity’s evolving relationship with nature and is organized into six thematic chapters that “explore its multiple manifestations—real and imagined—through gardens, forests, deserts, and their constellatory reflections in the cosmos.” The installation addresses the Anthropocene, climate change, migratory displacement, and urbanization, utilizing a display of impactful and thought-provoking works.

Co-curated by Candida Pestana with associate curator Ftoon AlThaedi from the Royal Commission for AlUla, and Anna Hiddleston with associate curator Noémie Fillon from Centre Pompidou, the exhibition brings together approximately 80 works spanning Saudi Arabia, the broader Middle East, and the international canon. Masters such as Pablo Picasso, Vasily Kandinsky, David Hockney, and Joan Mitchell appear in dialogue with contemporary regional talents including Ayman Zedani, Tarek Atoui, Dana Awartani, Tavares Strachan, and Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil.

Drawn from the Royal Commission for AlUla’s growing collection alongside loans from the Musée National d’Art Moderne-Centre Pompidou, the exhibition signals the museum’s broader ambition: cultivating meaningful artistic exchange across borders while amplifying Saudi and regional perspectives within global cultural discourse.

Until the building opens, the institution will continue to evolve through exhibitions, research, commissions, and residency programs. Designed by architect and Galerie Creative Mind Lina Ghotmeh as part of Saudi Vision 2030, the museum will eventually rest beneath the palms of the AlUla Oasis, positioning contemporary creativity within one of the region’s oldest living landscapes.

“The museum’s mission is to fundamentally redefine the traditional museum model by curating and presenting contemporary art with unparalleled depth and integrity,” says Pestana, noting a collection strategy that prioritizes comprehensive bodies of work and a curatorial balance of roughly 60 to 70 percent regional artists and about 30 percent international.

Desert X Returns

This year, 11 Saudi and international artists present site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations that transform geology into a gallery. Co-curated by Wejdan Reda and Zoé Whitley, with Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi returning as artistic directors, the 2026 edition draws inspiration from Lebanese American writer Kahlil Gibran, who described dreams as “space without measure.”

Since its inaugural edition in 2020—the first public art biennial in the region—Desert X AlUla has commissioned more than 45 works. Among this season’s most resonant moments are rare sculptures by late Saudi modernist Mohammed AlSaleem, presented publicly for the first time. Created in the 1980s, these geometric forms rise skyward, with symbolism drawn from desert horizons and celestial movement.

Elsewhere, Agnes Denes’ Living Pyramid traces cycles of soil and bloom; Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons channels Yoruba cosmology in Imole Red; and Basmah Felemban magnifies geological memory in Murmur of Pebbles. Sound-based works by Tarek Atoui and Héctor Zamora invite listening and participation, while additional contributions come from Sara Abdu, Mohammad Alfaraj, the Bahraini-Danish collective, Ibrahim El-Salahi, and Vibha Galhotra.

Notably, every commissioned piece was produced in Saudi Arabia using locally sourced materials and regional artisanship. Looking ahead, Desert X AlUla serves as a precursor to Wadi AlFann, the forthcoming 25-mile Valley of the Arts, where monumental permanent works by Manal AlDowayan, Agnes Denes, Michael Heizer, Ahmed Mater, and James Turrell will begin installation in 2028—positioning land art in direct coexistence with the landscape.

Performance Expands the Festival’s Artistic Language

Performance is increasingly integral to AlUla’s artistic expression, extending beyond the visual to include movement, sound, and shared experience. Building on last year’s introduction of contemporary dance in dialogue with the terrain, the 2026 festival presented Vertigo, a site-specific aerial feat unfolding across desert canyons. Conceived by choreographer Rachid Ouramdane in collaboration with highliner Nathan Paulin and members of the AlUla community, the performance transformed the vast landscape into a living stage.

Design Bridges Heritage and Future Expression

Within the AlJadidah Arts District, Design Space AlUla presented “Material Witness: Celebrating Design From Within,” showcasing the AlUla Artist Residency Programme and the AlUla Design Award 2025. Qatari designer Abdulrahman Al Muftah received the product design honor for Bird Whistle, terracotta instruments tuned to native bird calls, while French designer Matthieu Gautier was recognized in fashion design for Monumental Miniature, inspired by Hegra’s carved sandstone tombs.

The 2026 AlUla Arts Festival continues until February 28, with Arduna running until April 15.