Riyadh Art continues to transform the city into a gallery without walls with the launch of its second initiative Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium (TISS). The 22-day Symposium (Nov. 10 – Dec. 6) will bring together 20 international and Saudi artists to create public sculptures in a live setting. The theme for TISS 2021 is "The Poetics of Space," exploring the connections between matter and emptiness, light and shadow. TISS invites participating artists to create mesmerizing sculptures that manifest poetry in motion and create their own space while being in harmony with the surrounding public realm of JAX District, Al Diriyah. The completed works will be exhibited for 5 days at the end of the Symposium (Dec. 2-6, 2021) before moving to various outdoor locations across the city. TISS will also feature an education program, hosting school and university visits during the making of the sculptures, providing students with access to materials, skills, tools and techniques, and encouraging teachers to consider how sculpture can be meaningful, enriching and rewarding. There will also be 12 panel talks and discussions by artists and practitioners in a showcase of top sculptors building upon each other's experience and exploring the connections between the different forms of sculpting. Starting Thursday, April 1, 2021, TISS invites all stone sculptors of all nationalities with at least five years of experience exhibiting works to apply to participate in the Symposium. Entries can be submitted online from April 1 – May 7, 2021: https://riyadhart.sa/en/events/tuwaiq-international/. A final list of 20 artists will be commissioned to create new works at Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium, curated by Ali Jabbar and an expert panel. The panel includes, Cristiana Collu (director of National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy); Nicholas Cullinan (director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK) Yuko Hasegawa (artistic director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan); Marina Loshak (director of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia) and Eike Schmidt (director of Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy). TISS is a part of Riyadh Art, comprising of more than 1,000 public art installations across ten programs, plus one annual festival and TISS. Riyadh Art is bringing art to residential neighborhoods, gardens and parks, public squares and areas, creating one of the world's most livable, environmentally friendly and sustainable cities, in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals. — SG
