The ongoing Light and Art Festival “Noor Riyadh” is a fantastic option for anyone in Riyadh looking for a COVID-safe, exciting activity to do during Ramadan. Noor Riyadh, a new citywide festival of light and art, began its inaugural premiere on March 18th with over 30 art installations turning Riyadh into a “gallery without walls.” From March 18th to April 3rd, the King Abdulaziz Historical Center also hosted guided tours of 10 installations by artists from all around the world under the theme of Under One Sky as a symbol of human unity. Noor Riyadh’s full bill of events includes compelling program of talks, workshops, family activities, music, and film events.
Anyone in Riyadh from March through June of this year will find the city skies lit up with a unique light and art festival. Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s is a landmark exhibition of 60 years of light art across the city. The exhibition includes 30 masterworks of art divided into four categories, or “rays,” that “survey light as an artistic medium.” Each ray – “Perceiving Light,” “Experiencing Light,” “Projecting Light,” and “Environmental Light” – unites various styles of art and culture from across different places and points in time. Light Upon Light will run through June 12th throughout the King Abdullah Financial District; tickets and further information can be found on Riyadh Art’s website.
Another Noor event – Ladies’ Tour Through History – is a women-only tour of the festival’s installations that features the role of great women in Saudi Arabia’s history in a unique, illuminated experience at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. The tour takes place every Saturday and tickets cost only 50 SAR ($13.33 USD). Other walking tours, available to everyone, include the Noor Star Gazing Tour and the Noor Sunset History Tour at Wadi Namar, a lake and natural park located in a valley south of Riyadh.
Ticket reservations are required in advance, but all exhibitions are completely free to the public. Tickets and information for the complete list of exhibitions and special events can be found on Noor Riyadh’s official website. Other available art installations and cultural events – such as the Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium, the Urban Art Lab, Joyous Gardens, and Jewels in Riyadh – are detailed on Riyadh Art’s website.
