​​The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and The French Agency for AlUla Development (Afalula) have successfully completed the latest iteration of the AlUla Artist Residency Programme.
The Artist Residency provided six artists with the opportunity to pursue their artistic endeavours in the unique and infinitely rich setting of AlUla during a 12-week residency programme. The six artists, Augustine Paredes (Philippines, UAE), M’hammed Kilito (Morocco), Sabine Mirlesse (France, USA), Dr Afra Atiq (UAE), Mohammad Al Faraj (KSA), and Daniah Al Saleh (KSA, UK), assembled as exemplary practitioners of a complementary array of disciplines: poetry, painting, sculpture, photography, as well as installation, performance, video, and digital arts.
The artists interacted with historians, archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists, farmers, wildlife and agricultural experts, and the local community to exchange ideas and glean inspiration for their artworks and research which both draw from and enrich the living natural and cultural museum that is AlUla. Through a curated public programme of workshops, talks, film screenings, and readings, the artists introduced their ideas and practices to the greater community of AlUla.
Throughout the two Open-Studio days, in the midst of a lush oasis of palm trees at Mabiti, a guesthouse of old-fashioned charm, visitors can meet the artists, visit their studios, and be immersed in the culmination of three months’ worth of research, experimentation, and production. Visitors can also experience a variety of activities, including studio visits and guided tours, performances by Dr Afra Atiq and Augustine Paredes, and discussions with Mohammad Alfaraj, M’hammed Kilito, and Sabine Mirlesse.
On 20 December,  a panel discussion encompassing all six artists-in-residence will take place, followed by a closing event to celebrate the creative community that has formed around this residency programme.
This Open Studio event is also the occasion to discover how invited residents reflect on the place of the artist in monumental development programs such as AlUla, and the way they can integrate their insights and perspectives into the completion of these ambitious projects.
The AlUla Artist Residency programme will resume in January 2023, with a new iteration that will further investigate the dialogue between the past and present, reflecting upon history and its artistic heritage through the lens of digital and technological innovation.
The ambition is also to gradually connect the AlUla Artists Residency programme to the Journey Through time Master Plan’s Cultural Assets, and explore thematic residencies as multiple acts of prefiguration, such as agriculture, botany and perfume, the Arabian horses, arts in the landscape, design and architecture.
The AlUla Artists Residency Program is a step towards building a thriving ecosystem for artists from all around the world that will be embedded in AlUla and will give artists access to curatorial and artistic support in addition to production facilities.