Saudi Arabia launches first art residency program in AlUla
The launch of the first art residency program was announced on Friday in AlUla, a unique cultural landscape of north-western Saudi Arabia that has, for centuries, been a consistent and ever-evolving culture and trade hub.
The 11-week residency program fosters dialogue, exchange and collaboration between the artists in residence and the community of experts working on the ground in AlUla, as well as local practitioners and other members of the local community.
The program encourages invited residents to reflect on the place of the artist in such vast development programs and the way they can integrate their insights and perspectives in the research undertaken by the community of experts. In addition to providing support to develop the artists’ research and production projects to be implemented in AlUla, a dynamic public program is organized in collaboration with the artists, the experts, and the local community on a weekly basis. It includes open studios, workshops, and meetings between the public and the artists about their work in progress at different stages of the residency.
The first edition is based in Mabiti AlUla, a palm-grove and a guest-house in the heart of AlUla’s oasis. It will subsequently be established in Madrasat AdDeera, an arts and design center.
