Header: Noor Riyadh Festival 2024 Preview Night on Tuesday, November 26th, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. London-based artist collective, United Visual Artists, transformed the night sky into a living canvas with a preview of their drone show, Aether.
Under the Riyadh Art program, Noor Riyadh 2024 recently concluded, leaving a lasting impression on the city’s cultural landscape. Now in its fourth edition, the festival explored the theme “Light Years Apart” through an inspiring array of light-based artworks displayed across three key locations: the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and the JAX District.
Spanning from November 28th to December 14th, this year’s event featured 62 installations by 61 artists from 18 countries, offering diverse interpretations of light as both medium and message. From thought-provoking large-scale pieces to intimate displays, the works captivated audiences and sparked meaningful conversations.
Noor Riyadh continues to solidify its role as a cornerstone of Riyadh’s cultural calendar, showcasing the transformative power of public art and fostering connections between local and global creative communities.
The lineup featured contributions from 18 Saudi artists and 43 international artists representing nations such as Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
In addition to public art installations, Noor Riyadh included workshops, talks, community events, and guided tours led by festival curators Dr. Effat Abdullah Fadag and Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti as part of its cultural programming.
The opening event featured a preview of “Aether,” a drone show created by the London-based artist collective United Visual Artists. The seven-minute performance utilized 1,500 drones to depict celestial movements, focusing on the patterns and harmonies of the stars and planets. Furthermore, Architect Khalid Al-Hazani, Executive Director of the Riyadh Art Program, and Nouf AlMoneef, Festival Director of Noor Riyadh, were chosen to deliver the opening remarks.
Noor Riyadh aligns with Riyadh Art’s mission to transform the city into an open-air gallery. Since its launch in 2019, it has showcased over 500 artworks by more than 500 artists and welcomed over six million visitors.
