Riyadh was illuminated with art installations across the city during the Noor Riyadh Festival last March 18 to April 3, 2021. The Royal Commission for Riyadh along with first public art initiative in Saudi Arabia – Riyadh Art – organized a series of diverse light exhibitions and online cultural workshops that gave people a visual and intellectual experience despite the challenges faced by the pandemic.
The two main centers for the installations were in the King Abdullah Financial District and the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, with a majority of them permitted for free and public access.
One of the highlights of the Noor Riyadh Festival was the Light Upon Light Exhibit, which is a collection of various light arts since the 1960s up to the present. It was curated by Susan Davidson (formerly of the Guggenheim Museum in New York) and Raneem Zaki Farsi (art advisor and expert of Saudi Arabia’s art scene), and includes 30 immersive light art pieces with notable pieces including the Infinity Mirror Room by Yayoi Kusama, Hidden Diamond-Saffron by Anila Quayyum Agha and The Sun, Again by Mohammad Alfaraj.
The “Light Upon Light” exhibit still runs until June 12, 2021. For tickets and schedules, visit riyadhart.sa or download the Noor Riyadh app on your smartphone for more information.
