RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Art Futures is launching its inaugural Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency, set to run from April to July, 2025, with a second three-month session in autumn.
Billed as a new media arts hub, Diriyah Art Futures announced the first cohorts of artists and scholars who will take part in the residency.
Seven creatives will participate in the first session: UK-based artist Dr. Stanza; Indian artist Harshit Agrawal; Saudi artists Arwa Yahya Alneami, Reem Alnasser, and Reem Alfagih; Japanese curator and scholar Mizuho Yamazaki; and German scholar Anett Holszheid.
Set against Diriyah’s historic farms and Riyadh’s evolving environment, participants will develop their projects under the theme “High-Resolution Dreams of Sand,” considering the impact of technology on natural and constructed landscapes. Their work will be documented in a publication and the program will culminate in a series of public engagement programming to give audiences insights on their research and explorations.
The program offers residents access to labs and studios, as well as a budget for production costs alongside a dedicated production team.
Developed by the Saudi Museums Commission in partnership with Diriyah Co., Diriyah Art Futures, which was launched last year, aims to contribute to the new media and digital art landscape by integrating regional voices into the global art, technology and innovation conversation.
The hub opened its doors in November with an inaugural exhibition titled “Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts.”
Curated by Jerome Neutres, former director at the Reunion des Musees Nationaux-Grand Palais in Paris, the exhibition featured works by more than 30 international and regional artists exploring the history of computer art from the 1960s to the present day.











