Art residency in AlUla .. A qualitative experience to develop cultural creativity and merge heritage areas with the spirit of the age

Ahwal Al-Maarifa – Special

The Royal Commission for AlUla and the French Agency for AlUla Development have taken a creative cultural step that forms a qualitative vision for Saudi Arabia's views on envisioning and developing arts, and caring for archaeological sites to promote new creative concepts and innovate a modern artistic sense.

Thus, the program: "Art Residency" was created to absorb a new aesthetic awareness and an enlightened thought aiming to revive heritage life and link it with contemporary artistic, expressive, and tourist life.

Due to AlUla's unique natural cultural environment in the northwest of the Kingdom, besides being a cultural center and a road for trade and incense throughout history, the choice of the place came to form an artistic inspiration for the artists participating in the program.

Artistic Diversity:

6 Saudi and international artists were selected from a list of more than 50 artists to participate in the first edition of the Art Residency program. These artists are:

- "Rashed Al-Shashai," a Saudi artist and art teacher whose works focus on the purpose of human life and society's communication patterns, expressing these ideas through daily objects.

- "Muhannad Shono," a multidisciplinary Saudi artist whose works search the depths of the human experience.

- "Sara Favriau," a multi-skilled French artist who presents sculptures and various installation works, with her works based on existence and nature.

- "Taline Hazbar," an architect and fine artist residing in Sharjah, whose works aim to display the complementary relationship between nature and history.

- "Laura Sellies," a French artist presenting multimedia works, offering a new approach to interpreting the relationship between sculptures and people as well as images and sounds.

- "Sofiane Si Merabet," a French artist presenting works in various forms, focusing on human memories and the influences on identity via travel and migration.

The program resulted in a group of paintings highlighting the identity of the place in the AlUla region. The program lasted 11 weeks until January 2022 to enhance dialogue between artists and art enthusiasts in AlUla as well as technical experts in the field. Through this integration between technical teams of various specialties from geology to archaeology and botany, AlUla is established as a destination adorned with artistic creations. The theme of this experience was "Reviving the Oasis."

Global Cultural Destination:

The program encourages invited residents to think about the artist's role in such wide development programs and the way they can achieve integration between their artistic visions and the visions of experts in other specialties. The first session of the program was held in a guest house in the heart of AlUla oasis, and future sessions will be organized in "Madrasat Ad Deera," which is a center for arts and design in AlUla.

AlUla Vision Platforms:

On the other hand, the Royal Commission for AlUla launched several accounts for its initiatives on Twitter to contribute to introducing the roles of the Commission. These accounts include: AlUla FM (@AlUlaFm), Living Museum (@livingmuseum), and Arts AlUla. The Commission aims to transform AlUla into a leading global destination for heritage, culture, and nature, as it is home to "Mada'in Salih," the first site in Saudi Arabia to enter the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2008.

References:

https://www.almowaten.net/

https://www.hiamag.com/