DUBAI: The Royal Commission for AlUla and the French Agency for AlUla Development (Afalula) announced on Tuesday the launch of its latest artist residency program which will run until December.
Six artists from around the world have been selected out of an original list of 35 talents to decorate the Kingdom’s hotspot.
The artists include Saudi nationals Mohammad Al-Faraj and Daniah Al-Saleh, Emirati artist Afra Atiq, Moroccan-Canadian artist M’hammed Kilito, French-American artist Sabine Mirlesse and Filipino artist Augustine Paredes.
Muhannad Shono, On This Sacred Day, 2022, Mabiti AlUla, The Oasis Reborn Art residency 1. (Supplied)
RCU said in a statement that the talents were chosen based on their experience and technical ability, alongside their initial research projects, alignment with the RCU and AlUla’s objectives, and their ability to work in an unusual environment.
The first edition of the program launched in December 2021. It aims to foster dialogue, exchange, and collaboration between the artists in residence and the community of experts working on the ground in AlUla, as well as local practitioners and other members of the community.
The artists who participated in last year’s event were Saudi conceptual artist Rashed Al-Shashai and multidisciplinary artist Muhannad Shono, Syrian architect Talin Hazbar, French multidisciplinary artist Sara Favriau and French multimedia artists Laura Sellies and Sofiane Si Merabet.