Location

AlUla, Saudi Arabia

Size

.5 square km (123 acres)

Services

Planning

Completion

2022

Desert X is an international contemporary art exhibition, produced by The Desert Biennial, California. Presenting public exhibitions that respond to natural desert settings, Desert X AlUla held its first exhibition in 2020, reflecting an ancient desert region located in the Arabian Peninsula and became an internationally renowned contemporary art exhibition that celebrated the local landscape of AlUla.

Ayers Saint Gross contributed to the programming, siting, and visitor experience efforts for the 2022 Desert X AlUla exhibition, which featured newly commissioned works by 15 artists from all over the world. The featured pieces followed a theme of Sarab to explore ideas of mirage and oasis, while reflecting and contrasting the exhibit’s natural surroundings. The sculpture festival features international, regional and local artists’ interpretations of the desert environment.

Ayers Saint Gross team attends Desert X AlUla opening in February 2022

The Ayers Saint Gross team attends the Desert X AlUla opening in February 2022.

When first engaged, the Ayers Saint Gross team explored the raw site. A deep canyon with various landscapes and archaeological features. With the goal of preserving the archaeological sites and minimizing disturbance to the landscape, recommendations were made around visitor arrival sequences and movement, visitor center location, and art installation locations within the landscape.

The diverse artworks are presented over a large area, encouraging visitors to explore. The visitor center location was chosen to emphasize views out to the landscape and art found within it as well as reference back to the visitor center when out in the landscape, used for both way-finding and visitor comfort.

Desert X Visitor Experience Sequence

1. Entry Pavilion
Upon arrival, visitors will leave their vehicles and enter Desert X 2022 via an Entry Pavilion at the north end of AlMutadil Canyon. At the Entry Pavilion they will check-in with an attendant, access orientation information, use toilet facilities, and wait for their on-site transportation to take them to the Visitor Center.

2. Transportation
Visitors will be driven down AlMutadil Canyon in official AlUla Desert X 2022 vehicles. The canyon road will be an improved sand-topped road-bed aligned with existing tracks to maintain the existing vegetation.

3. Visitor Centre
The Visitor Center will sit at the junction of AlMutadil Canyon and the curatorial zones, sitting central to the art and integrated into an existing dune and becoming secondary to the art. Key views east and west of the visitor center are artfully created in reference to the landscape. Visitors use the building as a reference point and a place of refuge and rest.

4. Art
From the Visitor Center, visitors will go by foot into four canyons to visit individual artworks pieces. All art will be located within 1km of the Visitor Centre. Visual connections to the art and back to the visitor center should be maintained where possible to ease wayfinding.

Desert X Visitor Center is located in a central location within the canyon.

Ayers Saint Gross team attends Desert X AlUla opening in February 2022.

An Ayers Saint Gross team members examines art during the Desert X AlUla opening in February 2022.

Next Project

Wadi AlFann

Royal Commission for AlUla

Desert X AlUla 2022

Wadi AlFann

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