Diriyah Art Futures: MENA’s First Hub For Digital And Media Art

by Alexandra Mansilla

Diriyah Art Futures: MENA’s First Hub For Digital And Media Art

8 Apr 2025

Diriyah Art Futures opened in November 2024 in the historic heart of Diriyah — and honestly, it is one of the most exciting new additions to Saudi Arabia’s cultural scene. The center focuses on digital art, new media, and ideas at the intersection of creativity and technology.

It kicked off with a bold first step: “Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts” — a group show exploring how AI is reshaping the way we create and experience visual culture. It wasn’t just a flashy opening; it set the tone for what DAF is really about: pushing boundaries, asking questions, and making space for what is next.

But DAF is more than just exhibitions. It is a full-on platform designed to support artists, researchers, and emerging voices through residencies, talks, workshops, and educational programs. It is a place built not only to show art but to grow it.

Let’s take a closer look.

Let’s start with the building

The building was designed by Italian architects Schiattarella Associati and spans 12,000 square metres. It makes use of neutral materials — beige stone, sand-coloured concrete, and natural wood — allowing it to settle quietly into the landscape rather than stand out from it. “We wanted the architecture to feel as though it emerged from the earth,” the architects say — and the building really does feel grounded, both visually and conceptually.

At the centre of the building is an open courtyard that brings in natural light and sets a calm, steady rhythm throughout the space. Importantly, the architects never set out to create something iconic — the focus was always on building something functional, breathable, and genuinely usable for artists and anyone working inside.

Instagram: @dafmoc

Now, mission

DAF isn’t a museum, or a tech incubator, or a school — but it borrows a little from each. The aim is to support artists, designers, researchers, and other practitioners working with digital tools, critical questions, and new formats.

Instead of presenting finished work, the centre places emphasis on process, development, and experimentation. It is a platform where ideas are given time to unfold and where the work is often in progress rather than final.

Also: a library (the first of its kind in Saudi)

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “library”? Books, of course. And the second? Probably silence. But this one isn’t just a quiet space for reading. The library is active — it hosts talks, reading sessions, and small events that turn research into something shared, live, and ongoing.

Source: daf.moc.gov.sa

Store

You know that feeling when you leave an art space — one that actually moved you, inspired you, maybe even shifted your thinking a bit — and you are buzzing for the rest of the day? If you don’t, maybe you haven’t been to one yet. But if you do, you will know exactly what we mean. After that kind of experience, there is often this urge to take a piece of it with you — not as a souvenir, but as a way to hold onto the feeling, to mark the moment.

DAF has a space for that. A new media art and design bookstore with a curated selection of books, design objects, printed matter, and editions. It focuses on independent publishing, regional voices, and things that echo what is happening inside the centre. It is not about souvenirs — it is part of the same ecosystem of tools, ideas, and references.

by Alexandra Mansilla