Desert X has created a permanent exhibition in the desert in Saudi Arabia in the AlUla region until March 7.
What was once one of the main routes of the incense trade, connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, is now an open-air museum.
14 artists have come together, populating the desert with interactive installations, playing with the shapes, colors and landscape, the environmental conditions, the historical context of the surrounding communities and the ancient oasis.

The installations were conceived by Saudi curators such as Raneem Farsi and Aya Alireza with Neville Wakefield – artistic director of Desert X.
The exhibition is public and free and is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.

The installations mark a moment of transformation for the country and have been inspired not only by history but above all by the landscape.
In fact, they gently retrace the undulating forms of the desert, the sandy valleys, and the cliffs, conforming with the surrounding landscape, giving a suggestive view of the desert and the nearby oases.

“Artists are at the heart of all creations and their works are designed to foster artistic exchange and dialogue across continents,” explains Raneem Farsi.
The art of affirming once again as a means to create cultural exchanges that go beyond any territorial boundary, giving the opportunity to perform to those communities like the Saudi one, which until now has not enjoyed great visibility.
The aim is also to bring the Saudi public closer to the contemporary creative scene, to create a more inclusive future also through art.