AlUla Artist Residency Exhibition - Palimpsest of Time: Explorations in Creative Practice
17 Feb - 18 Mar 2023
Born from the AlUla Artist Residency, Palimpsest of Time presents an overview of the residency programme – now in its third edition – together with an immersive exhibition of richly diverse works created by the participating artists.
A palimpsest is a manuscript that has been erased and written over many times, leaving traces of earlier writings partially visible beneath more recent ones. In this sense the exhibition is a metaphor for the resident artists’ explorations, embracing the diversity, complexity and layers of the human experience in AlUla.
Set across two venues, the Madrasat Addeera will host a presentation of the residency programme to date including photography and video footage of the artists who have taken part. The second half of Palimpsest of Time will be held in Mabiti, a guest house and home to the residency, and showcase the processes and outcomes of the 13 most recent artists in residence who pay homage to the marks the past has left on the landscape, the culture and society of AlUla.
Experience Details
Key Information
Hours of Operation:
Sun-Wed: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm Thu-Sat: 10:00 am - 11:00 pm
Getting to the Venue
Location: Madrasat Addeera Parking: Parking is complimentary at the venue.
Location: Mabiti Parking: Parking is complimentary at the venue.
Meet the Artists
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Agnieszka Kurant
Polish artist Agnieszka Kurant’s interdisciplinary oeuvre spans installation, sculpture, and film. Residing at an intersection of art and science, her largely conceptual body of work explores how complex social and cultural systems can operate in ways that confuse distinctions between fiction and reality.
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Ayman Zedani
Through videos, installations and immersive environments, Ayman Zedani explores interactions between humans and non-human worlds. He intertwines his interest in the Gulf region with his investigative practices, invites audiences to observe symbioses between species, and creates narratives open to many interpretations.
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Ben Elliot
Ben Elliot is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work encompasses digital media, video, installation, and painting. He addresses contemporary themes such as the impact of emerging technologies, the rise of influence marketing, and the formation of socioeconomic trends.
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Bricklab
Bricklab is a Jeddah-based architecture studio co-founded by brothers Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz. Their practice probes the boundaries between art, material research, and built environments and merges technical mastery with conceptual rigour and interdisciplinary design.
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Manon Wertenbroek
Manon’s work ties together two seemingly disparate dimensions of artistic inquiry. On one hand she explores the human body and its capacity to betray our identity and past. On the other, her affection for techniques and materials drives her to give equal attention to the skills she employs in transforming them.
Jan - Mar 2023 Residency Artist
Monira Al Qadiri
Monira Al Qadiri has always been fascinated by the history and archaeology of the Gulf region, particularly of Saudi Arabia where part of her family originates. Monira creates sculptures, installations, videos, and performances exploring the region’s staggering urban and economic development over the last decades.
Meet the Artists
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
Daniah Al Saleh
Born in Riyadh and based between the KSA and UK, Daniah Al Saleh’s work reflects on cultural conditioning: how messages and beliefs are absorbed and delivered via media and other networks. Al Saleh uses analogies to establish ways of reading and unearth unexpected perspectives.
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
Mohammed Al Faraj
Mohammad Al Faraj is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans filmmaking, installation, sculpture, writing and photography. Al Faraj’s practice is anchored to stories of the past, mysteries of the future, people, and place and currently works in his hometown, the oasis of Al Hassa, KSA.
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
Dr. Afra Atiq
Dr. Afra Atiq is an Emirati poet, scholar, and teaching artist whose research focuses on mapping the Arab literary ecosystem. Her practice explores a range of themes such as heritage, culture, identity, and legacy, and this, in combination with her academic career, has placed her at the intersection of education and culture.
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
M'hammed Kilito
M'hammed Kilito is a documentary photographer based in Casablanca, Morocco. His works capture narratives covering issues related to cultural identity, the sociology of work, and climate change. Kilito’s latest project ‘Before It's Gone’ highlights the complex issues of oasis degradation in Morocco and its impact on its inhabitants.
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
Sabine Mirlesse
Sabine Mirlesse’s multidisciplinary approach connects photography and geology as guardians of time. Her creative practice is rooted in her background in literature and mysticism and manifests across an accumulation of layers and strata, completed by sculpture, installation, video and writing.
Oct - Dec 2022 Residency Artist
Augustine Paredes
Augustine Paredes’ multidisciplinary practice questions what it means to desire in the light of love, loss, and longing. His lyrical, contemporary, and sensuous visual narratives are derived from his many-storied travels, Southeast Asian consciousness, and curious gaze. He works primarily via photography, painting, poetry, and installations.
2021 - 2022
AlUla Artist Residency
Six artists from different backgrounds and nationalities participated in the first AlUla Artist Residency: Rashed AlShashai, Sara Favriau, Talin Hazbar, Laura Sellies, Muhannad Shono, and Sofiane Si Merabet.
Six new artists with diverse backgrounds and practices are encouraged to bring together a multitude of cultures and media, including visual art, installation, and, for the first time, photography, poetry, and film.