Your Guide to Al Ula Arts Festival 2023

The AlUla Arts Festival 2023 will return for its 2^nd edition from February 16^th to February 28^th, 2023, with an extensive program of events, exhibitions, artistic performances, and creative activities, including the first ever Andy Warhol exhibition in Saudi Arabia and a much-anticipated concert by Alicia Keys.

What is AlUla Arts Festival?

AlUla Arts Festival was launched in 2022 as part of the AlUla Moments Calendar. This arts festival exhibits curated contemporary art and large-scale art installations throughout the historical landscape of AlUla, merging traditional heritage with modern art and culture. The festival also includes talks, workshops, and guided hikes that give art lovers an opportunity to expand their artistic knowledge and skillset.

Festival Theme: ‘Living in Colour’

This year’s festival theme ‘Living in Colour’ will involve imbuing the unique landscape of AlUla with vibrant and colourful art installations and exhibitions. Different kinds of art will enhance the landscape, which will allow visitors to envision and experience AlUla through a polychromic lens.

Here are some key events and places of the AlUla Arts Festival 2023 you do not want to miss:

FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla

A preview of the exhibition will be launched at FAME: 13 Most Beautiful Performance and Exhibition Preview on February 16th. The Andy Warhol Museum will present large-scale projections of Warhol’s silent films paired with a live performance of the American rock duo Dean and Britta, which will be followed by the preview of FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla.

This flagship exhibition is the first collaboration of the Kingdom with the Andy Warhol Museum of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and it is curated by Museum Director Patrick Moore. The exhibition will feature Warhol’s famous paintings and prints of Hollywood celebrities such as Mohammed Ali at the award-winning Maraya venue. The exhibition will also display Warhol’s fascinating installation Silver Clouds.

Date: Feb 17^th - May 16^th 2023

Location: Maraya

100 Best Arabic Posters

This exhibition will display the 100 best Arabic Posters from a competition, which received 2500 submissions. The competition is held every two years and these posters are from the 2020-2021 competition, therefore they constitute the best of the contemporary visual culture of the Arab world.

Date: Feb 16^th - Apr 30^th 2023

Location: Al Jadidah

Art in the Landscape Guided Hikes

These guided hikes will be launched at the AlUla Arts Festival and will allow visitors to hike through the beautiful landscape of Wadi Al Fann and see various art installations for six hours. These installations are from globally renowned artists James Turrell, Agnes Denes, and Michael Heizer, while the landscape will also feature works of regional artists such as Manal Al Dowayan and Ahmed Mater.

Date: Feb 18^th – Mar 18^th 2023

Location: Wadi Al Fann

Living in Colour Art Tours

These art tours are led by Arts AlUla’s famous Hakat Al Fann through the Art Square of the Art District where various commissioned public art pieces will be displayed. The artworks will also include murals by artist eLSeed, and the famous hand painted urban carpet in Al Jadidah. Tours will be provided in Arabic and English.

Date: Feb 17^th- Mar-18^th 2023

Location: Gathering Square, Al Jadidah

The Resonant Shell

 

 

 

 

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This is an artistic structure created by artists Nathalie Harb and Youmna Saba. The structure is designed as a tower in which visitors climb a spiral staircase while meditating to acoustic sounds playing within the structure that are drawn from AlUla’s deserts.

Date: Nov 24th 2022- Mar 18^th 2023

Location: AlUla Oasis

Fringe: Performing Arts Festival

 

 

 

 

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This event will include street performances on the Incense Road from local and international artists. The performances will include acrobatics, buskers, street theatre, musical groups, and much more.

Date: Feb 17^th- Mar 4^th 2023

Location: Al Jadidah

Madrasat Addeera Program

 

 

 

 

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This program is offered by The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and includes free weekly workshops. These workshops cover various kinds of art spanning from silkscreen printing to creating collaborative 3D geometric structures.

Date: Oct 20^th 2022- May 20^th 2023

Location: Gathering Square, Al Jadidah

Alicia Keys in AlUla 

The 15-time Grammy winner returns to AlUla as part of AlUla Arts Festival. The American singer, songwriter, and pianist will be performing live at Maraya on February 24th and will host the second instalment of the Women to Women discussion at Madrasat Addeera on February 25th.  

Date: February 24th (live concert) & February 25th (panel discussion).

Location: Maraya & Madrasat Addeera

 

 

 

 

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The AlUla Arts Festival will end on February 28^th, but some of these events and workshops will extend the festival timings until May 2023. For more information, visit the website here.

Images source: AlUla official website