Noor Riyadh 2024 Preview Night: A Radiant Prelude to the World’s Largest Light Art Festival

Rashad Iskandrni

•    The Noor Riyadh 2024 Preview Night provided an exclusive first look at the festival’s fourth edition with curated tours at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center and a drone show by United Visual Artists.
•    The fourth edition of Noor Riyadh showcases 62 installations by 61 artists from 18 countries, transforming Riyadh into a gallery without walls.
•    The festival runs from 28 November to 14 December across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah and the JAX District.

Under the umbrella of Riyadh Art, Noor Riyadh’s 2024 Preview Night illuminated the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, offering a first glimpse at the festival. The evening brought together artists, curators and dignitaries to preview the fourth edition of the world’s largest light art festival, under the theme Light Years Apart.

Following welcome speeches from Architect Khalid Al-Hazani, Executive Director of the Riyadh Art Program, and Nouf AlMoneef, Festival Director of Noor Riyadh, festival curators Dr. Effat Abdullah Fadag and Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti led guests on guided tours of the 18 artworks surrounding Murabba Palace.

London-based artist collective, United Visual Artists, transformed the night sky into a living canvas with a preview of their drone show, Aether. Featuring 1,500 drones, the seven-minute performance explores the silent harmony of the stars and planets as it brings the unseen into view.

The Preview Night set the stage for Noor Riyadh 2024 which officially opens to the public from 28 November to 14 December. The festival turns Riyadh into a citywide gallery across three iconic hubs – the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah and the JAX District – as this year’s edition showcases 62 light-based artworks created by 61 artists from 18 countries.

Noor Riyadh 2024 features 18 Saudi artists and 43 international artists, with representation from Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Noor Riyadh integrates public art displays with workshops, talks and community events, offering a unique blend of cultural enrichment and creative expression. Noor Riyadh has achieved 14 Guinness World Records, cementing its reputation as the largest and most impactful light art festival in the world.

The festival underscores Riyadh Art’s mission of transforming the Saudi capital into an open-air gallery. Since 2019, the Riyadh Art Program has presented over 500 artworks by more than 500 artists and attracted over six million visitors through its flagship festivals, Noor Riyadh and Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium.

For more details, visit noorriyadh.sa or follow the festival on Instagram at instagram.com/noorriyadhfestival.

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For more information regarding Riyadh Art and Noor Riyadh contact: 
Riyadh Art Media Center: info@riyadhart.sa  
-Notes to editors-
About Noor Riyadh 
Noor Riyadh is a citywide annual festival of light and art which launched in March 2021. Noor Riyadh includes a festival and world-class exhibition, along with a public program of community activities, featuring educational workshops, talks and performances. Noor Riyadh is the largest light art festival in the world. 
Noor Riyadh combines the highest quality light artworks from leading international and Saudi artists, across the largest city footprint of any light art festival worldwide. Staged under Riyadh Art, the festival aims to nurture local talent and inspire youth to drive Saudi Arabia’s creative economy.
Website: http://noorriyadh.sa
Instagram: @noorriyadhfestival
Twitter: @NoorRiyadhFest
Facebook: @NoorRiyadhFestival
Noor Riyadh is presented by Riyadh Art and the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

Artist    Country    Artwork title, year    Hub
05.10 Studio    Saudi Arabia    Illuminating Souls    Wadi Hanifah
A.A.Murakami    United Kingdom (Alexander Groves)
Japan (Azusa Murakami)    The Passage of Ra    Jax District
Abdulrahman Taha    Saudi Arabia    Palm Forest    KAHC
Ali AlRuzaiza    Saudi Arabia    A Part of a Human Life    KAHC
Anna Ridler    United Kingdom    Circadian Nocturne    Wadi Hanifah
Asmaa Aljohani    Saudi Arabia    Al-Majles    Jax District
Atelier Sisu    Australia (the studio)
Peru (Renzo B. Larriviere) 
Australia (Zara Pasfield)    Evanescent    Wadi Hanifah
Athar Alharbi    Saudi Arabia    Perceiving Saudi Arabia’s Culture    KAHC
Ayman Yossri Daydban    Saudi Arabia    White Noise    Jax District
Boris Acket    Netherlands    Sunbeam, Captured    Jax District
Chris Levine    United Kingdom    Light is Love    Wadi Hanifah
         Higher Power    Faisaliah
Collectif Scale    France    Flux    Jax District
Daan Roosegaarde    Netherlands    Spark    Wadi Hanifah
Ebtesam Saleh    Saudi Arabia    Shabbah    Wadi Hanifah
Edoardo Dionea Cicconi    Italy    AKR III    KAHC
Fahad Al Naymah    Saudi Arabia    Manqiya    Wadi Hanifah
Federico Acciardi    Italy    Choreography in the Void    Jax District
Felix Frank    Germany    PULSE    KAHC
Filip Roca    Based in Barcelona    The Stream    KAHC
Hashel Al Lamki    United Arab Emirates    Bronze    Wadi Hanifah
Hmoud Alattawi    Saudi Arabia    Energy of Vision    Wadi Hanifah
Inside Out Project by JR    France    Inside Out    Jax District
Janez Grošelj    Slovenia    Alchemy of Atmospheres    KAHC
Javier Riera    Spain    Places of Geometry and Light    KAHC
Jiyen Lee    South Korea    Stain-Rainbow Forest 2.3    Jax District
Jukan Tateisi and Takeshi Yasura    Japan and United States (Jukan Tateisi)
Japan (Takeshi Yasura)    Gravitation    Jax District
Kimchi and Chips    South Korea and United Kingdom    Another Moon    Wadi Hanifah
Koros Design Studio    Hungary    Connected    KAHC
Krista Kim    Canada/Korea    Heart Space    Jax District
Ksawery Komputery    Poland    Flux    Wadi Hanifah
Lachlan Turczan    United States    Aldwa Alsael    Wadi Hanifah
Marshmallow Laser Feast    Based in the United Kingdom    Distortions in Spacetime    Jax District
Maryam Tariq    Saudi Arabia    Cosmic rays    Digital City
Mathias Gramoso    France and Portugal    PLAGIO.2    Jax District
Najla Alqubaisi    Saudi Arabia    The Sound of Millstone    KAHC
Nasser Al Turki    Saudi Arabia    Travel of the Light    Wadi Hanifah
Nawaf Al Dohan    Saudi Arabia    Sukoon    Jax District
Nick Verstand    Netherlands    Aura    Jax District
NONOTAK    France and Japan    Daydream V6    Jax District
Quiet Ensemble    Italy    Solar Dust    Wadi Hanifah
Random International    United Kingdom    Alone Together    KAHC
Rashed AlShashai    Saudi Arabia    The Fifth Pyramid    KAHC
Refik Anadol    Türkiye    Machine Hallucinations – LNM    KAHC
Ricardo Morcillo    Spain    Beings of Light    KAHC
Romain Tardy    France    The Great Indecision Council    Wadi Hanifah
Ryoji Ikeda    Japan    Mass    Jax District
Saad Al Howede    Saudi Arabia    TAPLINE    Wadi Hanifah
Saeed Gamhawi    Saudi Arabia    In Plain Sight    Wadi Hanifah
Shuster + Moseley    United Kingdom    The Empty Mirror of the Sky    Jax District
SpY    Spain    OVOID    Wadi Hanifah
Stanza    United Kingdom    Out of Breath: A Life Support Machine    Wadi Hanifah
Stefano Cagol    Italy    NAJM    Wadi Hanifah
Takayuki Mori    Japan    View Tracing #5 “LABYRINTH”    Jax District
THIRD SPACE* Studio    United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia    From East to West and North to South    Wadi Hanifah
TUNDRA    Based in France    Row    Jax District
United Visual Artists    United Kingdom    Aether    KAHC
Vincent Ruijters    Netherlands    Selintas Selalu    Jax District
VOUW    Netherlands    Chairwave    KAHC
Xavi Bové Studio    Spain    Phasing Rain    KAHC
Yann Nguema    France    The Well of Life    KAHC
Yusef Alahmad    Saudi Arabia    Metamorphosis    Jax District