The first center for new media arts in the region, Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), will launch CONTINUUM '25, its first exhibition, in Riyadh on September 13. It will feature pieces by 11 up-and-coming Saudi and international artists.
CONTINUUM '25, which debuts on November 15, is the first in a planned yearly series that will highlight experimental creative forms based in digital, immersive, and AI-driven media. The event showcases the artistic results of DAF's Emerging New Media Artists Program, a one-year residency that provides young artists with support and state-of-the-art resources.
Among the artists are Saudi Arabians Khaled Makshoush and Turki AlQahtani; Egypt's Salma Aly; Algeria's Samia Dzaïr; Jordan's Aya Abu Ghazaleh; Tunisia's Dhia Dhibi; Wales' William Brooks; Korea's Junsoo Kim; Morocco's Youssef El Idrissi; South Africa's Kyle Donald Marais; and Bahrain's Mohamed Al Mubarak.
Work addressing identity, memory, climate, technology, and displacement was created by the artists under the direction of international mentors Anna Ridler and Karen Palmer.
Virtual reality, AI-generated art, immersive installations, sound design, and screen-based narrative are all included in the exhibition.
The dynamic character of creative inquiry and the interaction between organic and artificial, human and machine, and simulation and reality are reflected in the title CONTINUUM. By reflecting these contrasts, the curatorial design immerses visitors in a fluid, multisensory experience that questions preconceptions and opens up new possibilities.
Issues like climate ecologies, algorithmic ethics, and the disarray of memory and location are all explored in conceptual art. The exhibition provides a critical analysis of the growing influence of technology on artistic agency and collective futures.
