RIYADH: This year’s Tuwaiq Sculpture Exhibition has officially opened on Al-Tahlia street, free of charge to members of the public.

Now in its seventh iteration, the exhibition runs from Feb. 9 to Feb. 22, showcasing the work of Saudi and international artists.

It features 25 new large-scale sculptures created during a live sculpting phase held from Jan. 10 to Feb. 5, allowing visitors to witness the artistic process as it was underway.

Working with locally sourced stone and reclaimed metal, artists transformed raw materials into visually stunning works.

Artists from 18 countries took part, with 650 people applying to take part in the symposium this year.

The sculptures represent diverse artistic interpretations of the symposium’s theme — “Traces of What Will Be” — addressing ideas of memory, responsible use of resources, environmental innovation and the impact of human intervention in natural and urban contexts.

The curation was overseen by Lulwa Al-Homoud, Sarah Staton and Rut Blees Luxemburg, who have a wealth of expertise in public art, spatial practice and contemporary visual culture.

An interactive program accompanies the exhibition, including workshops, panel talks and educational visits.

All artworks produced during the Tuwaiq 2026 event will join the permanent Riyadh Art Collection and will be installed at prominent public locations across the city in the future, extending the program’s impact beyond the exhibition period and integrating contemporary sculpture into public spaces across the city.

Since it began in 2019, the Tuwaiq symposium has brought together more than 170 local and international artists, with each event contributing new works to Riyadh Art’s permanent collection.

To date, more than 60 sculptures from past events have been permanently installed across the city, with additional works scheduled for installation in future phases, reflecting the program’s long-term approach to expanding public art across Riyadh.