Noor Riyadh 2023, one of the largest light art festivals of the world, will return for its third edition to Riyadh by November end.

The citywide festival, which will be held from November 30 to December 16, 2023, will illuminate Riyadh with large-scale light art installations, building projections, performances, and more.

Artworks will be displayed in public spaces across five hubs at the festival, which will be held under the theme, “The Bright Side of the Desert Moon”.

The festival’s exhibition “Refracting Identities, Shared Futures” will run from November 30, 2023 to March 2, 2024, at the JAX District. Neville Wakefield, formerly of MoMA PS1, Frieze Projects, and Desert X, will return to lead the curation of the show alongside Maya Al Athel, Curator, who served as artistic director of the festival in 2022.

Curated by Jerome Sans (Lead Curator), Pedro Alonzo, Alaa Tarabzouni, and Fahad Bin Naif (Curators), the festival will feature over 120 artworks by around 100 artists (more than 35 from Saudi Arabia) from more than 35 nationalities.

Sans is the co-founder of Paris’ Palais de Tokyo, and has been a curator of major biennials around the world and artistic director of prestigious institutions in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

On the other hand, Boston-based Alonzo is currently adjunct curator at Dallas Contemporary in Texas, and specialises in shows that go beyond museum walls.

Riyadh-based Tarabzouni and Bin Naif are both artists and curators, with individual practices that utilise their architectural backgrounds to bring unique perspectives on urbanism and the built environment.

Noor Riyadh 2023 will also feature over 500 community engagement programmes for all visitors and families alike throughout the duration of the festival and the exhibition.  

His Highness Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Culture, Board Member of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, and Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Riyadh Art Program, said “Under the guidance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, our dedication to culture and the arts has opened doors for creative expression. The participation of renowned global light artists in Noor Riyadh echoes our united vision. As we approach our third edition, we look forward to continuing Riyadh Art’s mission to turn the city into a dazzling gallery without walls and to ensure that art is for everyone."

Developed with the aim of nurturing local talent and amplifying Saudi Arabia’s cultural economy, Noor Riyadh is part of Riyadh Art, one of the largest public art initiatives in the world. Riyadh Art aims to transform the Saudi capital into a “gallery without walls”, with more than 1,000 public art installations, to be spread out across the city through 10 programmes and two annual events.

Across its editions, Noor Riyadh has created unique moments of joy across the city and provided millions of visitors the opportunity to appreciate world-class light artworks, and rediscover the city of Riyadh in a new light.

In 2022, Noor Riyadh celebrated multiple achievements, including welcoming 2.8 million visitors to the festival and winning six Guinness World Records, one of which being the largest celebration of light art in the world. – TradeArabia News Service