Diryah Art Futures Reveals Cohort for Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency

Diriyah Art Futures has launched the first edition of the Mazra’ah Media Arts Residency, set to take place from April to July 2025, with an additional three-month session planned for autumn. The organisation has just announced the first cohort of artists and scholars selected for the programme.

The inaugural session will feature Dr. Stanza (UK), Harshit Agrawal (India), Arwa Yahya Alneami (Saudi Arabia), Reem Alnasser (Saudi Arabia), Reem Alfagih (Saudi Arabia), Mizuho Yamazaki (Japan), and Anett Holszheid (Germany). These artists and scholars will explore themes under the residency’s focus, ‘High Resolution Dreams of Sand’, examining the intersection of technology with natural and built environments.

Participants will receive support in the form of production budgets, access to labs and studios, and a dedicated production team. The programme will culminate in public exhibitions and engagement initiatives, offering insight into the residents' research and creative processes.

Launched last year in partnership with Diriyah Co. and developed by the Saudi Museums Commission, Diriyah Art Futures aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s new media and digital art scene through integrating regional perspectives into the global conversation on art, technology, and innovation.

Diriyah Art Futures’ first exhibition, ‘Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts’, marks its commitment to exploring the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and creative expression.