Desert X AlUla – Press Release – Identity

The Art Issue.

Desert X AlUla invites visitors to discover the works of 15 Saudi and international artists who explore the concepts of mirage and oasis

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After its first edition in California’s Coachella Valley in 2017, Desert X became a phenomenon. The recurring exhibition is back this year, until 30 March, and this time is taking place in none other than AlUla. Located 1,100 kilometres from Riyadh, in northwest Saudi Arabia, this place of extraordinary natural and human heritage is particularly well known for Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. “AlUla has always been at the crossroads of trade and culture,” says Neville Wakefield, one of the three curators of Desert X AlUla. “Its landscape and history have and continue to draw people from across the globe. In captivating the imagination of artists and travellers alike, AlUla presents itself as the perfect site for an exhibition that explores the idea of the desert as a place of cultural interaction, dialogue and exchange.” A collaboration between not-for-profit charitable organisation Desert X (founded in California) and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), and established to advance new cultural dialogue through art, Desert X AlUla is the first site-responsive exhibition of its kind in Saudi Arabia. The theme for this year’s edition, ‘Sarab’, offers the opportunity to explore ideas of mirage and oasis through pieces of monumental scale that exist in dialogue with nature.