Desert X: Contemporary art in the desert of Saudi Arabia

The Desert X Biennial of Contemporary Art has opened in Al-Ula, where the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia, the tombs in Hegra, is located, The Art News Paper Russia reports.

Since February 11, 2022, an international open-air exhibition — Desert X AlUla is being held in the Al-Ula desert in Saudi Arabia. This is the second biennial in a row in the desert region. This year the theme Sarab was chosen, which translates from Arabic as "mirage". The artists created installations about mirages and oases, ancient myths and modern illusions, as well as about the confrontation between nature and civilization. In total, 15 unusual installations are presented in the Al-Ula desert.

The project was curated by Neville Wakefield, the art director of the project - Ranim Farsi, a representative from Saudi Arabia, and Rim Fadda, an independent curator and art historian from the Arab Emirates. As it was two years ago, the project was organized in cooperation with the Royal Commission of Al-Ula, a government body headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud. The collaboration was a continuation of the plan for the development of the cultural sector of Saudi Arabia, namely the Vision 2030 concept, a program aimed at reducing the oil dependence of the country's economy.

The key principles of Desert X are accessibility and freedom, which indicates changes in the cultural policy of the once closed state. According to Wakefield, moving art into the natural landscape literally physically frees it from the restrictions that galleries create. Rim Fadda mentions freedom of expression separately, emphasizing that artists were not required to explain their decisions in detail. The degree of openness and inclusion that the organizers are striving for has raised doubts among some media: they called the project an attempt to divert attention from the precedents of human rights violations. Nevertheless, art observers add that establishing a dialogue in the field of art is better than its complete absence. In addition, it is difficult to ignore the opportunities that arise due to such international projects for the development of local communities.