Desert X 2026
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
January 16 – February 28, 2026
Curated by Wejdan Reda and Zoé Whitley, under the vision of Founding Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and returning 2026 Artistic Director Raneem Farsi, Desert X AlUla 2026 will showcase visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists, reflecting the region’s long history of cross-cultural exchange.
Opening January 16 – February 28, 2026, Desert X AlUla will feature 11 new site specific artworks installed in the landscape of AlUla. Inspired by the poetry of Kahlil Gibran, this year’s theme, Space Without Measure, presents each artwork as a point on a new map, marking flourishes of imagination, from flowering utopias to previously inconceivable vistas, and sound corridors.
This 2026 edition brings together 11 artists whose diverse and monumental works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla’s dynamic and distinctive environment.
The participating artists are:
- Sara Abdu
- Mohammad Alfaraj
- Mohammed AlSaleem
- Tarek Atoui
- Bahraini-Danish
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
- Agnes Denes
- Ibrahim El-Salahi
- Basmah Felemban
- Vibha Galhotra
- Héctor Zamora
Since its inaugural edition in 2020, Desert X AlUla has steadily built a rich legacy of site-specific artworks that respond to the desert’s extraordinary landscapes, and produced 50 artwork projects for AlUla. Desert X AlUla aims to contribute to and continue the artistic heritage of the local community and region.
For more information, please visit: experiencealula.com