Tag: desert-x | ArchDaily

The Architecture Agenda: Inside the Key Events of 2026

Ananya Nayak — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Architecture and design enter 2026 in a moment of renewed experimentation, urgent environmental reflection, and an expanded global dialogue on the built environment. As cities confront the pressures of climate adaptation, demographic shifts, and technological transformation, this year's international calendar offers a lens into how the discipline is responding, creatively, critically, and collectively. From long-standing biennials to newly established platforms, the events of 2026 spotlight architecture's evolving role as both a record of our changing world and a driver of more equitable, sustainable futures.

Desert X 2025 Exhibition Opens with 11 Art Installations in California’s Coachella Valley

Antonia Piñeiro — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 06:30:00 +0000

Desert X is a site-specific international art exhibition taking place this year across the Coachella Valley, California. Its fifth edition, curated by Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and co-curator Kaitlin Garcia Maestas, opened on March 10, 2025, featuring eleven installations by international artists integrated into the desert landscape. Artists were invited to propose alternative ways of perceiving a world "increasingly encircled by the transformational effects of nature and humanity," through physical installations in specific locations within the California desert. In this context, architecture is understood as the most visible evidence of human transformation, while immaterial elements, such as wind and light, highlight the transformative effects not only of human activity but also of nature itself. The exhibition is free and open to all, running through May 11, 2025. Below are images and descriptions of the eleven art installations featured in this year's Desert X exhibition.

James Turrell Unveils Monumental Commission for Wadi AlFann in AlUla

Maria-Cristina Florian — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 06:30:00 +0000

The AlUla Arts Festival, running from January 16th to February 22nd, 2025, features a significant exhibition of works by renowned Light and Space artist James Turrell. Presented by Wadi AlFann, the exhibition, curated by Michael Govan of LACMA, offers a unique preview of Turrell's upcoming monumental commission for Wadi AlFann, a sprawling contemporary art destination in the AlUla region of north-west Saudi Arabia. The exhibition, located in AlJadidah Arts District within AlUla's historic old town, provides context for Turrell's ambitious project, which will involve the creation of a series of chambers within the canyon floor, designed to create a sensory experience of light, color, and perception.

Desert X AlUla 2024: Exploring Unseen Art in Saudi Arabia's Desert Region from February 9 to March 23

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 05:30:00 +0000

Desert X AlUla will open its latest exhibition themed “In the Presence of Absence,” from February 9th to March 23rd, 2024. Featuring 15 commissioned artworks that explore the unseen, the festival takes place bi-yearly in the desert region of Saudi Arabia. This edition of Desert X AlUla is curated by Maya El Khalil, renowned for her art advisory and MENA-focused curation, and Marcello Dantas, an award-winning curator known for his interdisciplinary practices.

Desert X AlUla Announces 2024 Dates for Upcoming Edition in Saudi Arabia

Nour Fakharany — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 05:30:00 +0000

Desert X AlUla has just announced its return in 2024 in the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. Marking the significant highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival, Desert X AlUla is a transient, site-responsive, and inclusive open-air art exhibit that takes place bi-yearly in the desert region of the country. Launching on February 9^th and continuing until March 23^rd, 2024, this edition is curated by Maya El Khalil, renowned for her art advisory and MENA-focused curation, and Marcello Dantas, an award-winning curator known for his interdisciplinary practices.

Under the Same Sun Installation / Stephanie Deumer

Hana Abdel — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 23:00:00 +0000

Created for Desert X AlUla 2022 in Saudi Arabia, Under the Same Sun examines the tangled web between the sun, its material reality, and the energy, images, and forms that it produces. This multimedia installation developed by Canadian artist Stephanie Deumer features a greenhouse of native plants submerged in an underground cavernous space.

Valley of the Arts in AlUla, in KSA, Announces 5 Permanent Large-Scale Installations, to be Completed by 2024

Paula Cano — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 06:30:00 +0000

The new cultural destination Wadi AlFann, Valley of the Arts in AlUla desert, Saudi Arabia, unveiled its first permanent large-scale installations by some of the world's most compelling contemporary artists. Agnes Denes, Ahmed Mater, James Turrell, Manal AlDowayan, and Michael Heizer will be the first five to be completed and unveiled by 2024, starting a program of commissions with more renowned artists to be announced.

Desert X AlUla 2022 Draws on the History and Culture of the Saudi Arabian Landscape

Dima Stouhi — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 06:30:00 +0000

As part of the Desert X international contemporary art exhibition, the second edition of the Desert X AlUla features 15 contextual installations across the Saudi Arabian desert that explore "ideas of mirage and oasis". This year's exhibition is curated by Reem Fadda, Raneem Farsi, and Neville Wakefield, under the theme of Sarab (arabic for 'Mirage'), and invites artists to address the history and culture of the desert, its contemporary significance, and the dichotomy between the natural and man-made world.

19 Contemporary Installations Dotted Across the Coachella Valley Desert

Niall Patrick Walsh — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 11:00:00 +0000

19 installations have been unveiled across the California Desert as part of the Desert X international contemporary art exhibition. The second edition of the exhibition, running from February 9th to April 21st, 2019, is free and open to the public, and seeks to “activate the desert landscape through nineteen site-specific installations and performances by some of today’s most recognized international contemporary artists.”