The second edition of the "Noor Riyadh 2022 Festival" will kick off under the slogan "We Dream of New Horizons" from Nov. 3 to 19, 2022, for 17 days, with the participation of more than 100 prominent contemporary artists, from more than 40 countries. Saudis represent 34 percent. "Noor Riyadh 2022" is one of "Riyadh Art" programs and is one of Riyadh's four mega projects, launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on March 19, 2019, under the leadership and supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, prime minister, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh, to transform Riyadh into an open art exhibition that mixes tradition and modernity, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The festival includes an accompanying exhibition in "JAX District" in Diriyah, for 3 months from Nov. 3, 2022, to Feb. 4, 2023, offering its visitors an artistic journey of creative light transformation in the past and future. Culture Minister Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan, board member of the Royal Commission for Riyadh and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the "Riyadh Art" program, explained that the "Noor Riyadh 2022 Festival" is an annual celebration that aims to support creativity and embrace national and international talents. It is also an avenue to create inspiring opportunities for Saudi artists to present their works and creativity with the participation of a group of the most prominent names around the world in the field of light art. He noted the vision of the Crown Prince, adding that this year's version of the celebration will be distinguished from last year's, by increasing the number of artists and the number and diversity of artistic and creative works participating in the festival as well its largest spread in terms of the number of sites by more than three folds. This is in addition to the increase in the number of events accompanying the festival, and the partnerships and community programs that it includes. Prince Badr indicated that the slogan of the second edition of the celebration for this year, which is "We Dream of New Horizons", connotes positive, optimism, and is reflective of confidence in the renewal and transformation that the Kingdom is witnessing in its various sectors under its wise leadership. He pointed out that this edition will see the festival triple in size, with activations in 40 locations across the city of Riyadh, including various artworks using creative light means, light models, and more than 500 different activities. These include artistic and cultural seminars, and workshops presented by experts, some of which are held in person, while others will be "virtually" through the website of the "Riyadh Art" program and its application on mobile phones. This is in addition to organizing live tours between the sites of artistic works, and a set of family activities, with the opportunity for visitors to volunteer in the festival through the "Community Volunteering Program" which contributes to enhancing the experience of the participants in the program in taking part in field activities in one of the world's largest festival in the field of illumination arts. This year's festival is held under the supervision of a group of local and international curators, including Dorothy Di Stefano, Irvi Mikhailov and Jumana Al-Ghouth, in addition to the curators of the accompanying exhibition, namely: Neville Wakefield, and the assistant curator Ghaida Al-Muqrin, who had multiple participations at a range of the largest art festivals around the world. — SPA
