‘Maknana’: Arab artists explore new media in Riyadh

Welcome to Al-Monitor Riyadh.

The city is in full swing this month with a wave of cultural openings, as Saudi artists make their mark both at home and abroad — including at Art Dubai. This week, we spotlight the second exhibition at Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), the kingdom’s new institute for digital art, and explore Maison Assouline Riyadh — the famed publisher’s elegant new boutique, restaurant and piano bar in Bujairi Terrace. We also take a closer look at the work of Eissa Attar, a pioneering figure in Saudi photography and visual arts.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Riyadh's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: “Maknana”

Samia Halaby’s “Branching.” 1990-1996/2019. (Courtesy of the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut / Hamburg)

Diriyah Art Futures’ latest exhibition, “Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Art in the Arab World,” champions pioneering artists from across the Middle East and North Africa who use technology as a new medium for artistic expression. The Arabic term “Maknana,” meaning “automation,” reflects on how Arab artists are incorporating new technologies into their work to shape their own creative narratives and vocabularies. 

Co-curated by artists and curators Haytham Nawar and Ala Younis, the exhibition showcases the work of over 40 artists from the region, including that of Emily Jacir from Palestine, Lebanese Akram Zaatari, Mona Hatoum from Palestine, Emirati Farah Al-Qasimi, Abdel Hadi El Gazzar from Egypt and French Moroccan Hicham Berrada presented alongside works by notable Saudi artists such as Ahmed Mater, Muhannad Shono and Abdullah Rashed AlSahli. Their works, displayed across four thematic sections —  Automation, Autonomy, Ripples and Glitch — showcase how they have explored various artistic concerns and geographies through new media on their own terms.

“Maknana” also includes rare archival works, new commissions and recent digital explorations by artists working across the Middle East and the diaspora. 

Dates: April 21 to July 19

Location: Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), Diriyah, Riyadh

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Maison Assouline Riyadh

A look inside the Maison Assouline Riyadh. (Courtesy of Maison Assouline)

For those who love to peruse the pages of beautifully written and designed tomes within sumptuous and inspiring surroundings, Maison Assouline Riyadh — a new boutique, restaurant and piano bar set in the prominent Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh, one of Diriyah’s most vibrant cultural and leisure hubs — is the place to be. 

The storied publisher’s new branch in the Saudi capital, which opened in late 2024, marks the 30th anniversary celebrations of the publishing house and showcases its ambitious plans for the Gulf region and the world of publishing. The new unit, dressed in the signature red-hued Pantone color of the house, presents Assouline’s range of elegant luxury tomes — many of which have been dedicated to the kingdom’s various regions in recent years — coupled with delicious food and beverage offerings and entertainment. 

The two-story building, set in a re-created traditional Saudi architectural structure, is located near the ruins of Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While enjoying a leisurely read, be sure to venture out onto the terrace if it’s not too hot, take in the vibrant scenery and celebrate — like Assouline does with the new Maison Assouline — the art of living well.

Location: 7227 King Faisal Road, Al Bujairi, Unit #11, Diriyah 13711

Find more information here.

3. Riyadh diary

Abdulla Al Othman’s Manifesto Language and the City. 2025. (Courtesy of the artist and Iris Projects; Photography by Musthafa Aboobacker for Seeing Things)

• Saudi artist Abdullah Al Othman’s first solo show in Dubai

Iris Projects, one of the UAE’s newest cultural entities operating as both a cultural agency and fine art gallery, will present a solo exhibition by Saudi artist Abdullah Al Othman in Art Dubai’s Bawwaba section. The work is a new site-specific installation and a continuation of the artist’s Language & The City series, which was previously shown at the Lyon Biennale in 2022. Al Othman will then present his first-ever solo show in the UAE at Iris Projects Gallery in Abu Dhabi, the first commercial gallery in the MiZa cultural district. The show, titled “Structural Syntax,” is curated by Irina Stark and showcases Al Othman’s work over the past decade, highlighting his unique visual language grounded in Arabian urban landscapes, language and architecture to reflect on personal and collective impressions of the rapidly changing reality in his home country.

Dates: April 18 to June 27

Location: Iris Projects Gallery, MiZa cultural district, Abu Dhabi

Find more here.

• Saudi ATHR Gallery presents “Now Is Not the Time for Pretty Pictures”

The Saudi contemporary art scene will be present at this year’s Art Dubai with a group exhibition curated by Emirati artist Rami Farook, featuring the work of Mohammed Al Faraj, who presents mixed media pieces exploring layers of identity, culture and the natural landscape; Eissa Attar, whose art revitalizes memories of crossing Jeddah’s Malik Road at age 15 — a highway that had no pedestrian pathway; and Muhannad Shono, with “A Promise of Breaking and Seedlings,” a series created using carbon transfer techniques to capture fleeting moments of both development and destruction. The works on show offer artistic creations that confront the challenging, unpredictable and often harsh realities of our time.

Dates: April 18-20

Location: Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah

Find more information here.

• Riyadh-based Syn Architects at Venice Architecture Biennale

Saudi Arabia will participate in the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale and has announced that its permanent national pavilion, located in the Arsenale, will present a project titled “The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection.” Designed by Syn Architects, a Riyadh-based practice founded in 2019 by Saudi architects Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi, the project seeks to redefine how cultural preservation and contemporary design can coexist. The presentation in Venice will be curated by Beatrice Leanza and will invite an exploration of contemporary urban conditions in the kingdom through alternative architectural pedagogy and new spatial practices.

Dates: May 10 to Nov. 23 

Location: Saudi National Pavilion, Venice Arsenale

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: “Noor Riyadh"

This beautiful tome, released at the end of last year by Assouline, showcases Riyadh’s pioneering Noor Riyadh festival through the work of local and international artists who create using light as their medium. The images in this book highlight spectacular creations that have illuminated the city — both its urban and natural landscapes — over the event’s four editions, capturing their impact with poetic poignancy through the creative medium of light. Celebrated throughout the book is the festival’s mission to unite and inspire through public art.

5. View from Riyadh: Eissa Attar

Eissa Attar’s “Crosswalk.” 2022. 

"Crosswalk," a set of prints by Eissa Attar, sheds light on the visceral tension and anxiety pedestrians experience while crossing a street filled with cars. As the artist explains on his Instagram, “It is inspired by my personal experience crossing Malik Road in Jeddah at age 15, where no crosswalk was available, as well as stories shared by others or encountered online. These narratives reveal the raw, lived realities of such moments.” On view at Art Dubai in ATHR Gallery’s booth, the work uses both AI and risograph techniques (a stencil duplicator) to explore the need for — and vulnerability within — the seemingly mundane act of crossing the street. Using a CMYK process, the final images are tactile, photographic and painterly in nature.

6. By the numbers

• According to the Roads General Authority, at the end of 2024, Saudi Arabia boasted a vast network of over 73,000 kilometers (45,360 miles) of roads.
• The total length of roads in the Riyadh region is approximately 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), with efforts currently underway to implement new road projects.
• In August 2024, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City awarded four contracts worth 13 billion rials ($3.5 billion) to develop the road network in the Saudi capital.