Diriyah Art Futures, the first institution dedicated to new media art in the Middle East and North Africa, has officially opened its doors to the public. Located in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, Diriyah Art Futures is an international center founded with the mission of diversifying the emerging field of new media arts by amplifying the voices of practitioners in the Middle East.
Haytham Nawar, Director of Art Futures in Diriyah, said: “The opening of Art Futures in Diriyah represents a milestone in the development narrative of new media arts as we finally bring a Middle Eastern and North African perspective to the “DAF will be a hub for critical engagement and innovation at the intersection of art and technology, pushing creative boundaries and imagining new futures.”
The launch of DAF is accompanied by a series of public events, headlined by the opening of its first exhibition “Art Must Be Artificial: Artificial Intelligence Perspectives in the Visual Arts”, which runs until February 15, 2025. Covering art from the 1960s to the present day, the exhibition is a bold statement of DAF’s mission statement and a declaration of its sincerity.
Leonel Moura ARS (Art Robotics Group), 2024
Courtesy of Diriyah Art Future©
“Art Must Be Artificial” is curated by Jérôme Neutres, former director of the National Museum of the Grand Palais in Paris, and features works by Frieder Nake, Refik Anadol and Vera Works by more than 30 avant-garde artists including Vera Molnar, as well as Saudi artists Lulwa Al-Homoud and Muhannad Shono, and other artists from the Middle East and North Africa region.
The opening week of DAF also featured multi-day seminars on geometric abstraction (taught by Al-Homoud) and the role of generative artificial intelligence (led by groundbreaking artist Leonel Moura), as well as exhibition tours and audiovisual concerts designed and performed by artists Davide Quaiola. Public conversations with Leonardo Dellanoce and Louis-Philippe Demers are planned for the remainder of the year, with further workshops, masterclasses, performances and film screenings planned for early 2025.
The opening of Art Futures in Diriyah reflects Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global hub for innovation as part of the Vision 2030 framework, an ambitious enterprise to strengthen the Kingdom’s economy globally status and enhance its status as a cradle of creativity and creativity. Technological innovation through multi-industry initiatives rooted in Saudi culture and heritage.
Lulwah Al-Homoud Permanent Code, 2022
Courtesy of Diriyah Art Future©
Mona Khazindar, advisor to the Saudi Ministry of Culture, said: “The establishment of the DAF by the Museums Committee, one of the 11 specific departments of the Saudi Ministry of Culture, is a testament to our country’s efforts to cultivate talent and pioneer new formats. Creative Expression. Through global institutions like DAF, we are developing a cultural ecosystem that fosters creativity, enriches lives and empowers the next generation of artists and scholars.”
The launch also marks the latest achievement in a long-term effort by the Saudi government and Diriyah Company to revitalize Diriyah. Diriyah Corporation is a public investment fund committed to advancing this initiative under the auspices of Vision 2030. Located along the fertile Hanifa Valley northwest of Riyadh, this historic city served as Saudi Arabia’s first capital from 1727 to 1818.
As Riyadh developed into a modern capital, Diriyah was largely abandoned for more than a hundred years until residents began returning to the area in the mid-20th century. Over the next few decades, private repopulation efforts snowballed into a full-fledged, state-funded project aimed at preserving the city’s historic status and rebranding the area as an attractive cultural and business destination. Since 2010, At-Turaif, the historic district of Diriyah where DAF is located, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With striking modern forms and a natural earthy appearance reminiscent of the mudbrick buildings of the old city, DAF’s facility embodies the fusion between Diriyah’s historical significance and its ambitious vision for the future. Designed by Italian architect Schiattarella Associati, the 129,000-square-foot campus features cutting-edge exhibition areas, studios, digital labs, residential areas, libraries and auditoriums. This is not just a computer arts museum; It is an active forum for artists, academics and technicians to collaborate and promote the development of this rapidly evolving medium.
Miguel Chevalier Digital Zeligs, 2022
Courtesy of Diriyah Art Future©
To this end, DAF also highlights its advocacy for stewarding the next generation of talent and promoting the creative voices of regional practitioners through a range of programs and residencies.
The Emerging New Media Artists Program is a one-year course designed to provide forward-thinking young artists with training for careers in new media arts. Developed in conjunction with the French art center Le Fresnoy’s National Studio of Contemporary Art, the course includes weekly lectures, seminars, screenings and seminars with leading artists, as well as an environment for creating work across disciplines. Participants’ creative efforts are further supported through funding, mentorship, and access to the facility’s state-of-the-art equipment and production space. The first batch consists of 12 young artists from 11 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Meanwhile, the Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency Program is open to renowned artists and academics working in the fields of new media and digital arts and will run from February to April 2025. The theme of the first residency is “High-Resolution Dreams Sand” and encourages participants to create new works or scholarship that consider the intersection between ecology and human civilization through the dual lenses of art and technology. The theme DAF’s proximity to the historic Diriyah landscape and the rapidly developing Saudi capital is also explored. Like participants in the Emerging New Media Artists Program, residents will gain access to DAF facilities and equipment, production budgets and display work. opportunities for support.
Application deadline for the Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency is January 20, 2025
For more information about the future of Diriyah Arts, visit daf.moc.gov.sa/en/ or follow DAF on X (@DAFmoc) and Instagram @DAFmoc.
