With the end of Winter at Tantora and the start of AlUla Arts Festival
“Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo 2022, Alicia Keys Concert and Women To Women Dialogue, The opening of Desert X AlUla 2022, What Lies Within at Maraya, Oasis Reborn at Mabiti AlUla and AlUla Performing Arts Festival at AlJadidah Commences… to name a few”.
AlUla, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-: AlUla is embarking on the biggest weekend of its AlUla Moments season. Building on the success of Winter at Tantora – AlUla Moments is AlUla’s new events umbrella introducing 4 distinct new festivals for 2022. Winter at Tantora was the first festival of the four and offered an exciting mix of music, cultural and equestrian events. The festival finale includes this weekend’s exciting second edition of the Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo on 11th and 12th February.
AlUla Arts – the inaguarul festival dedicated to the arts – commences on 11th February with the public opening of Desert X AlUla 2022 and What Lies Within and a special “One Night Only” performance by international superstar Alicia Keys.
Flagship arts, music and sports events taking place this weekend make it the biggest and most remarkable weekend of the events calendar.
Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo 2022:
Organised by the Royal Commission for AlUla in partnership with the Saudi Polo Federation, polo fans and enthusiasts will be able to experience the first major polo tournament staged in the desert, the Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo 2022 takes place at the specially built equestrian centre on 11th and 12th February 2022. The event will see four teams compete in the desert arena that lies close to the ancient site of Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Those taking part will be a mix of invited patrons and professional players drawn from the global and Saudi polo community.
Polo and horse enthusiasts can watch the game live on AlUla Moments’ YouTube channels.
Desert X AlUla 2022:
Free and open to all, Desert X AlUla, the site-responsive international art exhibition is taking place in the ancient landscapes of AlUla. Following its inaugural exhibition in 2020, Desert X AlUla returns for its second edition from 11th February to 30th March 2022, placing newly commissioned works by 15 Saudi and international artists in dialogue with the extraordinary nature and culture of AlUla. Learn more from here.
What Lies Within: Works from the Basma AlSulaiman Collection:
What Lies Within brings together works from the past two decades by some of the most significant artists of Saudi Arabia and its diaspora from the private collection of Saudi patron and collector Basma AlSulaiman. The exhibition is the first in a series in AlUla celebrating the legacy of pioneering collectors and patrons in Saudi Arabia, who have sparked and steered the country’s relationship with the arts, paving the way for a flourishing cultural sector today. Learn more from here.
Cortona on the Move: Past Forward – Time, Life and Longing
AlUla plays host to an innovative photography exhibition from 9th February to 31st March, featuring the work of 19 photography artists from the Kingdom and from around the world. As part of the AlUla Arts festival, AlUla has collaborated with Italy’s Cortona On The Move, the acclaimed Italian festival of documentary photography, to curate a special site-responsive experience in AlUla’s new AlJadidah village.
Alicia Keys in Concert at Maraya
The awe-inspiring mirrored event venue, Maraya, will host American musician, singer, songwriter and multi-Grammy-award winner Alicia Keys for a special “ONE NIGHT ONLY” performance on 11th February. The intimate performance presented by Good Intentions will be in support of her new release KEYS.
While the concert is sold out, fans will be able to watch the concert live and free on mbc1 TV channel, and on Youtube channels for mbc2 and AlUla Moments. More information available here.
Good Intentions – Women to Women dialogue hosted by Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys will host an invite only Town Hall event entitled “Women to Women,” in a dialogue with the first female Saudi Ambassador to the US, HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud. The conversation with female entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives, artists and the welcoming and inspired women in AlUla about power, purpose and progression. This companion event intends to spark meaningful dialogue and provide an open and honest venue for women to share world visions, dreams, and support for each other. More information available here.
Oasis Reborn Exhibition:
Explore the works created by artists Rashed AlShashai, Sara Favriau, Muhannad Shono, Talin Hazbar, Laura Sellies and Sofiane Si Merabet following their research-based residency in AlUla. Their beautiful works are displayed in a date farm in central AlUla, Mabiti AlUla, the result of immersion in the landscape and interaction with the AlUla community, researchers and scientists who are investigating the region’s oases. The Oasis Reborn Art Residency and Exhibition is in collaboration with Afalula runs from 8th February to 31st March 2022. To visit the exhibition, book your free slot from Experience AlUla
AlUla Performing Arts Festival:
As part of the AlJadidah art hub, the inaugural AlUla Performing Arts Festival will entertain visitors and locals from 13th February to 22nd February 2022. The festival will take place in the roads of AlJadidah village, where a mix of international and local artists will delight crowds for ten days from 6 PM to midnight. There will be acrobatic performances, buskers, musical groups, street theatre, poetry and much more. Stand out performances will include well-known Saudi sand painter Alaa Yehya, with a performance that will tell the story of AlUla’s history. Activities will also include a live calligraphy show by Shaker Kashgari, one of the most influential live Arab calligraphy artists. Furthermore, each night Deya Rambo will be creating new art dedicated to different themes that will showcase his unique style that takes graffiti culture and fuses it with his own Saudi twist.
Dining and Adventure
From a farm to table restaurant in the oasis to dramatic cliff-top dining with amazing views of AlUla, there are more than 15 new eating experiences available for visitors to refuel and get back out to experience the new arts events in AlUla. While new adventure experiences include an extended zipline, the exhilirating new Via Ferrata zipline and new hikes, camps and walks.