Noor Riyadh, the groundbreaking annual festival of light and art, will launch on November 3, 2022 (until November 19, 2022), accompanied by a 3-month art exhibition (November 3, 2022 – February 4, 2023) and a dynamic public program.
Following the success of the festival’s inaugural edition in 2021, this edition will see the festival triple in size, with activations in 40 locations across the city of Riyadh.
As one of the world’s most ambitious festivals, Noor Riyadh transforms the city into a dazzling night-time ‘gallery without walls’ across the largest city footprint of any light art festival worldwide. The festival brings together local communities, from families to artists, students, professionals, and more, with international audiences from across the globe.
Noor Riyadh creates unique moments of joy across the city, nurtures artistic talent, and delivers awe-inspiring immersive experiences that allow visitors to appreciate world-class light artworks and rediscover the city of Riyadh in a new light.
The anticipated second edition showcases over 120 installations, building projections, and drone shows by more than 100 Saudi and international artists. The festival is co-curated by Hervé Mikaeloff, Dorothy Di Stefano, and Jumana Ghouth. Many renowned names in light art are united with an expanding roster of emerging and established local artists with over 40 nationalities.
Noor Riyadh’s 2022 theme is ‘We Dream of New Horizons,’ responding to a motif that is both literal and metaphorical in meaning. It alludes to the distant glow of sunrise or sunset and the shining light of our dreams, with a sense of hopefulness for the future inherent in the phrase.
Additional highlights include the festival’s accompanying exhibition entitled ‘From Spark to Spirit,’ taking place from November 3, 2022, to February 4, 2023, at JAX 03 (JAX District), Riyadh, curated by Neville Wakefield (lead curator) and Gaida AlMogren (associate curator). The exhibition traces light’s role in shaping our relationship to a world for which light has become the signal of change, exploring themes such as the ‘Technologies of Light,’ ‘Architectonics of Light’ and ‘Consciousness of Light.’
