Arduna

Organised into six chapters, the exhibition delves into nature’s multiple manifestations, both real and imagined, on a journey through gardens, forests, deserts and their constellatory reflections in the cosmos. 

As an oasis on the historic Incense Road that linked India and the Arabian Gulf to the Levant and Europe, AlUla represented a haven or a refuge for the traders that passed through. The exhibition takes this image of the garden as a point of departure. Drawing inspiration from the site of AlUla, it will show how both modern and contemporary artists explore our evolving relationship to nature and the land. With over 80 artworks from all disciplines, it will bring together masterpieces by modern pioneering artists such as Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, Joan Mitchell and Vassily Kandinsky, alongside leading contemporary voices including Saudi artists Ayman Zedani and Manal AlDowayan, and regional artists Imran Qureshi, Samia Halaby and Etel Adnan.

Through a display of impactful and thought-provoking artworks, it will tackle the challenges the world encounters today, examining notions of the anthropocene, the threat of climate change, migratory displacement and the spread of urbanisation. As artists attempt to disentangle humankind’s complex and often conflicted relationship with the environment, the exhibition can be seen as a plea for the shaping of new modes of co-existence between all forms of life.