Saudi Arabia’s AlUla welcomed the return of one of its most artistic cultural events as Desert X AlUla 2026 opened from 16 January to 28 February 2026, transforming the region’s desert into an open-air gallery of contemporary art.
Now, in its fourth edition, Desert X AlUla continues to strengthen AlUla’s position as a leading global destination for art in the landscape.
The 2026 exhibition is themed “Space Without Measure”, inspired by the writings of Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran and his reflections on possibility, perception, and the boundless nature of the human spirit. Through this lens, Saudi and international artists will present large-scale, site-specific installations that respond directly to AlUla’s unique geology, history, and cultural heritage.
The exhibition takes place primarily in AlUla’s Wadi AlFann (Valley of the Arts), where vast canyons and desert formations provide natural scenery. Additional satellite sites allow visitors to explore artworks across multiple locations, creating a journey through art and environment.
Curated by Wejdan Reda, founder of Sahaba and Associate Director at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, alongside Zoé Whitley, a London-based curator known for her work at the Venice Biennale and leading international institutions, the exhibition brings together regional insight and global perspective.
Desert X AlUla 2026 features 11 artists from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, and across the globe. Among the highlights is Basma Felemban, a Saudi artist known for installations that draw on Islamic geometry, whose monumental work Murmur of Pebbles is inspired by AlUla’s geological memory and its layered sense of time.
The exhibition also features Sudanese modernist Ibrahim El-Salahi, whose practice integrates African, Arabic, and Western artistic traditions through paintings and sculptures that blend calligraphy, surrealism, and abstraction; his 2026 work Haraza Tree offers a meditation on unity and resilience. Completing the selection is multidisciplinary Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj’s labyrinthine installation, What Was the Question Again?, rooted in the landscapes and cultural memory of Al Ahsa.
Sound and participation are central to works such as Tarek Atoui’s evolving installation, The Water Song. A Lebanese-born artist and electro-acoustic composer, Atoui explores sound as a medium that shapes perception through immersive, multi-sensory environments, collaborating with musicians, composers, and local craftspeople to create sculptural instruments from materials such as bronze, water, glass, and stone.
This emphasis on activation continues in Hector Zamora’s Tar HyPar (2026). Mexican-born Zamora, whose practice blurs boundaries between art and architecture and between the organic and the industrial, conceived the work as a site-specific instrument for the valley. Drawing its name from the traditional Saudi drum (tar) and the hyperbolic paraboloid form (hypar), the installation invites visitors to play its surfaces as drums, transforming viewers into participants and the desert itself into a resonant, communal soundscape.
Environmental and future-focused narratives appear in Indian conceptual artist Vibha Galhotra’s Future Fables. Based in New Delhi, Galhotra transforms fragments of demolished buildings from AlUla into a steel-framed structure, prompting reflection on construction, collapse, and climate change while offering a space to imagine alternative futures. Alongside these, many other artists and modernists contribute works that make AlUla an inspiring destination for contemporary art.
Opening hours of the exhibition are 10:30 to 17:30, weekly from Tuesday to Sunday, with adjusted hours during Ramadan. General admission tickets start at SAR 50 (USD 13), offering access to all exhibition sites, complimentary parking, internal transport, and bottled water. Entry is free for children under 12.
Visitors can choose from a range of experiences, including public guided walking tours for SAR 100 (USD 27), private guided tours for SAR 1,000 (USD 267), open-top car tours for SAR 200 (USD 53) per seat, nighttime tours, and guided meditation sessions set within the desert.
Blending art, landscape, and collective experience, Desert X AlUla 2026 invites visitors not just to observe, but to walk, listen, and encounter art in dialogue with the infinite desert. Booking in advance is recommended, though walk-ins are welcome.
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