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Festivals and Events
Elephant Rock in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, is a massive, naturally sculpted sandstone formation resembling an elephant with its trunk touching the desert floor, formed by millions of years of wind and water erosion. Photographer: Hatem Boukhit | Unsplash.
AlUla Arts Festival 2026
By Geoffrey Williams
Briefly …
Running from February to April 2026, Arduna (Our land) is a landmark exhibition of the AlUla Arts Festival, bringing together more than 80 works from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and beyond in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou. Set against AlUla’s ancient desert landscapes, the exhibition explores our evolving relationship with land, nature, and co-existence through modern and contemporary art.
From 1 February to 15 April 2026, the pioneering exhibition Arduna (‘Our land’) will be one of the undeniable highlights of the fifth annual AlUla Arts Festival, Saudi Arabia. Presented by Arts AlUla, Arduna is a collaborative co-curation with Centre Pompidou with the support of AFALULA (French Agency for AlUla development) and brings together more than 80 diverse artworks from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa region, and beyond.
The showcased works are drawn from the Royal Commission for AlUla’s (RCU) growing collection, alongside significant pieces from the collection of the Musée National d'Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou. The exhibition is co-curated by Candida Pestana with associate curator Ftoon AlThaedi from the RCU, and Anna Hiddleston with associate curator Noémie Fillon from Centre Pompidou.
Left to right: Co-curator Candida Pestana from the contemporary art museum in AlUla; Associate curator Ftoon AlThaedi from the contemporary art museum in AlUla; Co-curator Anna Hiddleston from the Centre Pompidou; and Associate Curator Noemie Fillon from the Centre Pompidou. Images supplied by Arts AlUla.
Artistic direction and curatorial concept
As an oasis on the historic Incense Road that linked India and the Arabian Gulf to the Levant and Europe, AlUla represented a haven or a refuge for the traders that passed through. It was a sanctuary, a place of safekeeping where they could leave their worldly goods whilst away. It was a place of rest, contemplation and meditation – a garden within the expanse of the desert.
Drawing inspiration from the site of AlUla, it will show how modern and contemporary artists explore our evolving relationship to nature and the land. With over 80 artworks from all disciplines, it will bring together masterpieces by modern pioneering artists such as Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, Joan Mitchell, and Wassily Kandinsky, alongside leading contemporary voices including Saudi artists Ayman Zedani and Manal AlDowayan, and regional artists Imran Qureshi, Samia Halaby and Etel Adnan.
Ayman Zedani’s The Holy Wad for Arduna 2025. Image supplied by Arts AlUla.
Organised into six chapters, the exhibition delves into nature’s multiple real and imagined manifestations on a journey through gardens, forests, deserts, and their constellatory reflections in the cosmos. Through a display of impactful and thought-provoking artworks, it will tackle the challenges the world encounters today, examining notions of the Anthropocene (the proposed current geological epoch where human activity has become the dominant influence on Earth’s climate and environment), the threat of climate change, migratory displacement, and the spread of urbanisation. As artists attempt to disentangle humankind’s complex and often conflicted relationship with the environment, the exhibition can be seen as a plea for the shaping of new modes of co-existence between all forms of life.
“As artists attempt to disentangle humankind’s complex and often conflicted relationship with the environment, the exhibition can be seen as a plea for the shaping of new modes of co-existence between all forms of life.”
“Arduna is a landmark moment for AlUla Arts Festival, reflecting Arts AlUla’s emerging position at the heart of global conversations on art, culture and the environment,” Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts and Creative Industries at the RCU, told The Solo Traveller. “This exhibition brings together exceptional works from Saudi Arabia, the region and the world, engaging audiences with themes that touch on our shared relationship to nature and land. It is a celebration of creativity without borders and a significant step towards establishing AlUla as a year-round hub for cultural innovation and artistic excellence.”
“This exhibition is a very important step in our partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla, as we welcome the public to witness the first fruits of Centre Pompidou’s strategic advisory role for AlUla’s forthcoming contemporary art museum,” Laurent Le Bon, President of the Centre Pompidou, told us. “We share the fundamental mission of promoting cultural heritage and fostering lasting intercultural dialogue, and we look forward to welcoming the public, and particularly young visitors, to this unique exhibition showcasing the artistic landscapes of Saudi Arabia, France, and beyond.”
New commissions
As part of AlUla’s evolving creative ecosystem, Arduna will introduce new artwork commissions developed in close dialogue with the region’s unique landscapes and cultural narratives. Audiences will see new works by Saudi artist Ayman Zedani and Lebanese artist Tarek Atoui, both of whom created their projects during the AlUla Artists Residency Program. The exhibition also unveils new commissions from Saudi artist Dana Awartani, Bahamian conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, and French artist Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil. Together, these works reflect the museum’s role in producing works that emerge from, and contribute to, the vibrant network of artists, curators and communities that define AlUla’s unique creative identity.
Maraya (‘mirror’ or ‘reflection’) is the world’s largest mirrored building, an architectural marvel in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, designed to blend into the desert landscape by reflecting its surroundings. It features thousands of reflective panels that create a mirage-like effect, making it seem to disappear into the Ashar Valley’s sandstone cliffs. Photographer: Zhifei Zhou | Unsplash.
About AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and comprises of over 140 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement. Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after the Romans conquered the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
The Tomb of the Lion of Kuza in Hegra, Saudi Arabia, is a famous 1st-century CE Nabataean rock-cut tomb known for its striking, isolated facade carved from a massive sandstone outcrop, showcasing Nabataean artistry blending with Greco-Roman influences in the ancient caravan city, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Photographer: Nmessana | iStock.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages, which has been recently listed on the UNESCO’s memory of the World Register. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century, was also recognised as one of the World's Best Tourism Villages in 2022 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
To learn more about AlUla, Arduna, and the AlUla Arts Festival, visit the Experience AlUla website here.
Geoffrey Williams the The Solo Traveller Group’s Founder and Publishing Curator.