Archaeology
The archaeological site of the city ofHegra lies in the desert in north-western Saudi Arabia. Occupied since the Neolithic period, the site covers almost 3 km² and contains 138 rock tombs dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, the most important testimony to the Nabataean culture. On their faces, Assyrian, Egyptian, Phoenician and Hellenistic influences intertwine. Engraved texts reveal a mixture of languages, including Nabataean, Greek and Latin. Hegra, modeled on Petra, is mentioned in the Koran as Al-Hijr.
These gigantic works were the creation of a trading people who enjoyed their heyday in antiquity. Nabataean trade was aided by the domestication of the dromedary. This had such a profound effect on people's lives that the camelid is depicted life-size in a series unearthed in 2018. Extremely valuable, these sculptures from the Hail region appear on the three protruding rocks of the "Camel Site". The Jubbah archaeological site has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The ancestors of today's populations left numerous petroglyph panels on these sites. The Jebels al-Manjor and Raat are now home to an abundance of human and animal representations that retrace ten millennia of history.
Modern politics
For centuries, Wahhabi fundamentalism put the brakes on all artistic expression. In order to respect the ban on human representation imposed by Sunni Islamic tradition, the visual arts were limited to geometric and abstract motifs, plants and calligraphy.
Those days are long gone. For the past decade, Saudi Arabia has been promoting contemporary art. Galleries and art centers are flourishing. Every year, the Misk Art Institute organizes the Misk Art Week, designed to promote creativity. The event offers a formidable springboard for young talent.
In Riyadh, an extraordinary contemporary art biennial was held in the Jax district in 2024.
The pioneer Safeya Binzagr
Born in Jeddah in 1940, Safeya Binzagr is the only Saudi artist to have her own museum, the Maison Safeya Binzagr in Jeddah. Her international recognition has earned her the title of founder of the Saudi fine arts movement.
From an early age, Safeya Binzagr had the opportunity to travel and familiarize herself with Western culture. This fueled her desire to document Saudi culture and convey the soul of a people.
In 1968, Binzagr had the courage to organize an exhibition in a country devoid of art galleries. On this occasion, she showed Mounirah Mosly's work alongside her own. The event was a great success, and was even acclaimed by Prince Faysal bin Fahd Al Saud. Her scenes of everyday life are particularly popular.
Art in the open air
Jeddah's masterful sculpture park illustrates former mayor Mohamed Said Farsi's passion for urban planning. Between 1972 and 1986, during his term of office, Farsi assembled a collection of 400 works that would make the greatest museums green with envy. Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Victor Vasarely, Joan Miró and Jean Arp now embellish Jeddah's sublime Corniche and various districts of the city. In the Obhur district, Julio Lafuente's astonishing wall of embedded cars is entitled Accident! (Crazy Speed). In Ruwais, Mustafa Senbel's Fisherman's net curls skywards.
Even more breathtaking, a cultural space has been set up in the desert at AlUla. Designed by an Italian agency, the Maraya cube (Arabic for mirror) reflects the expanse of sand. Both a work of art and a performance venue, the cube features a removable bay window that reflects the ancestral incisions etched into the rocks.
Graffiti has found a home at Diriyah Warehouses in Riyadh. A stroll through frescoes brimming with local cultural references, between warehouses and cool cafés. Renowned Saudi street artist Noura Bin uses her colorful palette to immortalize the many facets of her country. Her fresco on the façade of the Ministry of Culture in Oud Square is largely inspired by Arabic calligraphy.
Current scene
Women are gaining strength on the cultural scene. Men and women are integrating Western innovations with Arab references. Thanks to colossal subsidies, dedicated spaces are springing up all over the country.
Photographer Ibrahim Sarhan works as an engineer during the week. At weekends, he goes hiking to show the world the splendor of Saudi nature. Sarhan also photographs relics such as the parietal inscriptions at Jabal Shaqra, or ancestral paintings in red ochre. He also documents the daily lives of farmers, and their age-old practices.
Born in the 1990s, Al Kheriji reinterprets European influences and deconstructs his models in the manner of Pablo Picasso. Faisal Al Kheriji draws inspiration from 20th-century cubism and surrealism to reinvent Arab customs. Examples include his paintings The Men of Saudi Arabia, which turns Picasso's Femmes d'Alger on its head, and Reema Lisa, freely inspired by Mona Lisa.
Several art galleries focus on regional artists. Riyadh's must-see Naila gallery, for example, presented the canvases and sculptures of Ghada AlHassan, who combines collage, watercolour and painting to address collective memory.
The Mono gallery in Riyadh showcases Saudi talent in its three exhibition spaces. We were able to discover the abstract paintings of Yousef Ahmed Jaha. In Riyadh, the Jax district hosts numerous exhibitions and artists-in-residence. This is where the 2024 Biennale of Contemporary Art was held.
In Dhahran, the Ithra Museum houses five galleries, including a magnificent one dedicated to contemporary art in the Middle East. This museum opens the door to new ideas and interesting forms of cultural expression.
What about tomorrow?
Rising stars meet at theAhlam Gallery or the Athr Gallery. Ahmed Mater, born in Tabouk in 1979, is the artist behind the Edge of Arabia collective. His work is socially critical, expressed through video, photography and installation. He has exhibited at the Louvre, the British Museum and the Sharjah Biennial.
With its reputation for being more open to the West, the city of Jeddah organizes a contemporary art festival, as well as a Photo Fair and art exhibitions in old Jeddah. Another venue, the Adham Art Center, brings together several cultural spaces under one roof. As soon as you enter, two works in black mesh by Saudi artist Filwa Nazer greet you. In Saudi Arabia, women artists know how to make a name for themselves on the cultural scene!
