Diriyah Art Futures Opens Call for Artists & Scholars

Established New Media artists, scholars and machine learning practitioners are invited to apply for the second Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency at Diriyah Art Futures for a three-month programme built around the theme 'Intelligent Matter'.

Set in Diriyah, the heritage city just outside Riyadh, DAF was developed by the Saudi Museums Commission as a hub for interdisciplinary experimentation. For its 2026 edition, the residency is opening its doors through invitation and open call, with applications closing on March 8th, 2026.

Rather than treating AI as a buzzword or distant concept, Intelligent Matter zeroes in on process, positioning machine learning systems, datasets, interfaces and computational pipelines as part of the artistic material itself.

Over three months, residents will have access to DAF’s machine learning infrastructure, including GPU capabilities, alongside fully equipped film, sound, XR and fabrication labs to develop research-driven work. The residency will close with an Open Studio event, bringing artists into conversation with curators, institutions and the public.