Don't Miss: Noor Riyadh 2022 Artworks And Activities To Experience In The Last Days Of The Citywide Festival

Illuminating the capital for the last two weeks, and truly turning it into a gallery without walls, Noor Riyadh 2022 still has plenty of artworks to marvel at, talks to hear, workshops to learn from, and creative experiences to enjoy before the citywide festival wraps up on November 19. For its second edition, the annual festival of light and art has brought together more than 130 artists to present over 190 artworks, inspiring creative expressions in 40 locations and across five hubs. Though the citywide activities will wrap up on November 19, the exhibition From Spark to Spirit will live on, creating joyful experiences at Jax District until February 4, 2023.

Take on some art trails

So how can visitors make the most of Noor Riyadh this coming week? A series of specially crafted Noor Riyadh Festival Trails cater to all audiences. Whether you’re in for a seven-hour marathon of light that takes people across various neighborhoods and areas, starting from Wadi Namar, then towards Olayaand eventually to KAFD. Or more family-friendly trails in King Abdullah Park and Salam Park, plus a shorter trail through KAFD and the Diplomatic Quarter – there truly is something for everyone.

Listen to artistic insights at Noor Riyadh talks

For those who want to learn more about the artistic process, then hear insights from the artists themselves with Noor Riyadh’s talks. On November 17 at 8pm, established artist Rashed AlShashai will discuss the Ganzfeld Effect, a phenomenon also known as perceptual deprivation, where a lack of visual stimulation can alter our brain state. He will discuss the effect in front of his work at JAX District entitled 100 Million, where a green light radiates from his ecologically-inspired installation.

What does the horizon represent? It can stand for the future, uncertainty, new beginnings and more. Catch the talk ‘Dreams of the Horizon’ on November 19, 8.30pm, which examines the festival’s theme ‘We Dream of New Horizons’ in closer detail. In this talk,artists Aseel Alamoudiand Moath Alofi, along with Noor Riyadh executive director Miguel Blanco-Carrasco and moderator Mai El-Dib, will discuss the concept of the horizon and how it inspires artmaking. 

Get involved in creative experiences

Noor Riyadh’s public program includes unique creative experiences that take visitors deeper into the artworks and creative concepts of the festival. On November 16, take a walk along Wadi Hanifa to explore the works of Bashaer Al Hawsawi, Gisela Colon, Sarah Brahim, Ahaad Alamoudi and Abdullah Al Othman, and understand how they all reflect the site. Afterwards, stay in the area for a barbeque or just a lovely evening in nature.

On November 18, take part in a reflective gathering during sunset at Al Hayer Lake as a prelude to Basmah Felemban’s The Eleventh View of Time. Her work, which features video projections above the lake and creates beautiful reflections on water, focuses on the story of a catfish that has found its way to Riyadh’s wadi. How did it get there and what does its presence say about migration? This unique experience by the lake takes visitors through these thought-provoking concepts.

Take a nature stroll through wadis and parks

Art has been inspired by nature since time began and the Noor Riyadh features some incredible artwork in some breathtakingly beautiful locations. So be it panoramas in the park or walks of enlightenment in the Wadis, the following recommendations come to you from Noor Riyadh’s stunning Wadi and park settings. 

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ayyaf Park

Immerse yourself in colour, light and shadow as you wonder beneath the artwork of Noor Riyadh returning artist Daniel Buren, Le Ciel coloré et projeté is a sculptural piece created in situ at Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ayyaf Park.

Elsewhere in the park participate in Mohammad Alfaraj’sWith Light, I Create A Hand of Love, and Extend It To You, an artwork that cannot exist without people, as nothing occurs until audience members take out their phones and use the light emitted as brushes with which to paint in the air. 

King Abdullah Park

At King Abdullah Park see the mesmerizing Impulse, a collaboration between Roman Hill and Jonathan Fitas.The large-screen video installation is enjoyed from the comfort of bean bag, it captures the genesis of creation and follows life from its origins to its diffusion in the cosmos. Impulse is a joy to watch.

For those wanting something a little more active, Vibrance by Bruno Ribeiro enables the audience to transform their body into a monumental light sculpture through the power of their own voice. Participants say a word and have a brand-new song created for them on the spot, after which motion sensors create 3D models of them on the big screen.

Wadi Namar Park

Discover Mammasonica’s (you promise me) Poems at Wadi Namar Park, the piece illuminates on a grand scale as a digital light canvas transforms computational cinematography into luminous sculpture across the face of the wadi valley.

Explore further and find Sabine MarcellisLight Horizon, a sculptural work that adorns the wadi and has been created especially for Noor Riyadh 2022. Utilizing her unique and signature colored, two way mirrored glass, the artwork is a delight for the senses.

Salam Park

Follow your heart to the fabulous Amours en Cage (Love in a Cage) at Salam Park. Created by Porté par le Vent (Carried by the Wind), this lovingly crafted site-specific work features a pathway of heart-shaped fruits that illuminate like stars suspended in the sky.

In Eternal, there is much to love about how Eternal Art Space beautifully intertwines projection, sound, art and technology as the park’s fountain glows with video projections of flora, with a corresponding sound design that complements the park’s natural elements.

Wadi Hanifa Park

At Wadi Hanifa, the views of the night sky can be truly sublime. Drawing on cosmology, physics and biology, Puerto Rican-American artist Gisela Colon’s One Thousand Galaxies of Light (Starfield) is inspired by the night sky. The installation consists of an organic site-specific configuration of 100 silver stainless steel columned light structures standing 3 meters tall.

For more information on talks, creative experiences, artworks and more, visit the Noor Riyadh website – http://noorriyadh.sa