FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla

Feb 17, 2023 - May 16, 2023

A one-of-a-kind exhibition held in the award-winning Maraya, FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla, highlighted one of the world’s most famous and recognisable artists’ personal fascination with fame and celebrity. Produced in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum, FAME brought together some of Warhol’s most iconic artworks.

FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla
Installation Photo © Arts AlUla / © The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum
The installation featured paintings and prints of Hollywood stars, sporting legends and musicians - including Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali and Dolly Parton, among others - alongside filmed portraits described as “screen tests” of 60s counter-culture icons. The installation also included Andy Warhol-designed wallpaper and Warhol’s ground-breaking work, Silver Clouds. The artworks were accompanied by rarely-seen archival photographs, including Hollywood publicity photos and Polaroid portraits made in his studio and later utilised as source material for his paintings and prints.

From his childhood in industrial Pittsburgh, Warhol gazed at Hollywood glamour and dreamed of escaping to be a part of that world. As Warhol achieved that dream, becoming one of the world’s most famous artists, he also came to understand that fame comes with many complications.

Focusing in on the notion of celebrity, the exhibition drew a line between the artists’ reflections on society then, to contemporary culture, highlighting Warhol’s ongoing relevance to the next generation and new audiences.
FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla Highlights

FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla Highlights

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Installation Photo © Arts AlUla / © The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum

Patrick Moore, director of The Andy Warhol Museum says:

“FAME is intended to be an introduction to the aspect of Warhol that I believe is most fascinating to many young people, including Saudi youth, as Andy Warhol’s journey, which started as a child staring at the movie screen and collecting publicity stills, is becoming more common through the rise of social media. FAME is an opportunity to further extend Warhol’s legacy by reaching new audiences through the display but also the talks programme and screen-printing workshops that will run in parallel to the exhibition.”

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Installation Photo © Arts AlUla / © The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum

Workshops Offered During FAME: Andy Warhol in AlUla Exhibit

Offering opportunities for local audiences and visitors to learn even more about Andy Warhol and his work, the exhibition was accompanied by a public programme of talks and a series of workshops and masterclasses in screen printing and design. Learn more about workshops offered at Madrasat Addeera

Follow @alulamoments and @experiencealula on all social channels to be the first to know when new experiences come to AlUla.​

Silkscreen Studio

This hands-on silkscreen studio workshop was open to the general public, families, and kids of all ages to create their own unique silkscreen prints of popular products and places. Guests discovered how pop artists were inspired by everyday life and used common, everyday objects to create works of art.

Animal Champions

In this silkscreen print workshop, students created a silkscreen print of the Arabian Leopard in the style of pop artist Andy Warhol and learned how they can help nurture the natural world. Participants used art to raise awareness about endangered animals.

Radical Urban Silkscreen Team (RUST)

This silkscreen workshop, with a socially conscious twist, empowered youth to create engaging pop art of historic sites like Old Town and Hegra after discussing the importance of conserving local and international historical landmarks; exploring the intersections between art, heritage, and the environment.

ABOUT MARAYA

Maraya is a stunning piece of art set in the desert canyon of Ashar Valley. Designed to blend into the surrounding landscape, it rises from the sand like a mirage. The state-of-the-art structure is covered in 9,740 mirrored panels reflecting AlUla's beauty, making it the largest mirrored building in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

Maraya, meaning mirror or reflection in Arabic, celebrates AlUla's significant role in history as a crossroads of cultures for centuries. The mirrors themselves become a contemporary canvas, reflecting the remarkable heritage of the area. As the perfect modern ode to the past, Maraya is the centrepiece of AlUla's growing cultural scene. From spectacular concerts and thrilling performances to art residency programmes and arthouse films, AlUla is emerging as a cultural centre on a global scale.

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Maraya Social by Jason Atherton

Book your reservation now at Maraya Social, located atop AlUla's award-winning Maraya. Maraya Social is the passion project of the Michelin Star chef, Jason Atherton. Open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday; the cuisine takes inspiration from AlUla with produce sourced from local farms, all served up in Atherton's signature style.

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