Arts AlUla and Desert X AlUla have revealed the artist lineup for the upcoming edition of the open-air exhibition, which will take place alongside the 5th AlUla Arts Festival and is set to open 16 January.
Participating artists include Sara Abdu, a Saudi artist of Yemeni descent who will present A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance; Mohammad Alfaraj, a Saudi artist whose practice spans a variety of media and will present What was the Question Again?; Lebanese-born Tarek Atoui with The Water Song, which continues his Bayt Al Hams (The Whispering House) project first shown at the AlUla Arts Festival in 2025; Bahraini-Danish (Batool Alshaikh, Maitham Almubarak, and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen) who will unveil the kinetic sculpture Bloom; Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, a Cuban artist based in the United States with Imole Red which takes inspiration from the sunset colours of AlUla and African Yoruba traditions; Agnes Denes with a new iteration of her The Living Pyramid project; leading Sudanese Modern artist Ibrahim El-Salahi who will showcase Haraza Tree; Saudi artist Basmah Felemban with Murmur of Pebbles which ponders the flow of the old river which created the forms of AlUla’s desert; Vibha Galhotra, a New Delhi-based artist revealing a meditation on the shifting climate and the degradation of the natural environment entitled Future Fables; and Mexican artist Héctor Zamora who will harness the power of sound in the desert valley with Tar HyPar.
In addition to the commissioned artworks, five works by the late Mohammed AlSaleem will be included, on loan courtesy of the Riyadh Art collection, The Royal Commission for Riyadh City. The acclaimed Saudi modernist’s works The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla from the 1980s will be on view for the first time in the public domain.
The fourth edition of Desert X AlUla will run under the theme of Space Without Measure, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield and Raneem Farsi and guest curation by Wejdan Reda and Zoé Whitley. This year’s edition will feature an expanded programme, including workshops led by artists, some of whom are participating in Desert X AlUla, guided art hikes, curated tours, commissioned artist performances, and more.
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) states: “At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will encounter an extraordinary diversity of artists whose works converse deeply with the land. From sound and sculpture to living installations and historic forms reimagined, this year’s commissions create spaces that honour AlUla’s heritage while inviting visitors into its present, where the ancient and contemporary meet. We welcome audiences to experience the unique landscapes of AlUla through works that reflect the richness of its stories, its resilience, and its distinct place in the global dialogue of contemporary art – as a precursor to Wadi AlFann, the permanent monumental open-air museum of art in dialogue with AlUla’s landscapes, unveiling from 2028.”
Desert X AlUla runs from 16 January to 28 February
