Alfaisal’s AI Center arranged a group visit for students and faculty affiliates to the Diriya Art Futures exhibition, “Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts,” curated by Jerome Neutres and featuring the work of over 30 artists from around the world. The exhibit maps the evolution of computer art from its origins in the 1960s to today’s cutting-edge digital practices. Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) is an arts, research, and educational center dedicated to New Media Arts and serves as a creative hub for the expanding arts movement in Saudi Arabia. The museum’s contemporary structure is situated at the desert’s edge, north of Riyadh, in close proximity to the UNESCO world heritage site of AlTuraif, one of the Arabian Peninsula’s most significant historic and archaeological landmarks.
DAF’s new media exhibit blends art, design, computer science, engineering, and cultural studies. The guided tour of the DAF highlighted these intersections, sparking connections to students’ and faculty’s own fields of inquiry. During the tour, DAF’s guides shared curatorial decisions, artists’ processes, and behind-the-scenes insights that are not readily available in exhibition texts. This provided Alfaisal’s students and scholars with a deeper appreciation of both the artistic practice and the institutional framework of the ‘Art Must Be Artificial’ exhibit. The partnership between Alfaisal University and DAF helps cultivate an ecosystem where creative inquiry, critical thinking, and technological innovation reinforce each other, ensuring long-term impact on both education and cultural production.
Guided by DAF curators, the group explored the exhibition’s rare collection of new media from pioneering figures in new media art, with works generously provided by the Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation. The Art Must Be Artificial exhibition weaves together global and regional perspectives, featuring internationally renowned artists such as Refik Anadol and Quayola alongside Saudi creatives including Lulwah Al-Homoud, Muhannad Shono, Nasser Alshemimry (DesertFish), and Daniah Al Saleh. Their diverse practices range from geometric abstraction to robotic art, immersive audiovisual works, and digital installations, reflecting the Kingdom’s spirit of innovation. The exhibition also highlights prominent MENA voices such as VJ Um Amel (Laila Shereen Sakr, Egypt/US) and Haythem Zakaria (Tunisia), whose works engage deeply with the intersections of media, culture, and technology.
“The DAF guides provided historical, cultural, and technological context that situates the artworks within broader artistic, scientific, and societal narratives. This enriched comprehension beyond what could be gained by viewing the works independently by our students and research affiliates,” said Dr. Areej Al-Wabil, the Director of Alfaisal’s AI Center who highlighted how these tours underscore the critical need for collaboration between cultural institutions and academic institutions.
By witnessing how artists push the boundaries of these technologies in expressive ways, students and researchers are encouraged to experiment, critique, and integrate generative AI into curricula and scholarly work in ways that foster innovation and critical reflection. “Exposure to experimental forms of art and technology can inspire new approaches in pedagogy, curriculum design, and scholarly projects. For instance, in the domain of generative AI, students and faculty encountering artworks that employ machine learning models for image synthesis, soundscapes, or interactive installations can begin to reimagine how these technologies might be adapted within their own disciplines,” said Dr. Areej.
After a day spent exploring new generative AI technology and discussing its implications for the future, the group reflected on how the DAF exhibition enabled both students and scholars to move seamlessly between critical inquiry and applied experimentation, particularly with emerging technologies such as generative AI. New media art thrives at the intersections of art, science, and technology. Collaborative efforts create spaces where disciplinary boundaries are crossed, encouraging novel approaches in pedagogy, curriculum design, and research that would not emerge in isolation.
Alfaisal University faculty members and AI Center affiliates, Professor Ovidio Baltatu, Dr. Nora Alhomidan, and Dr. Areej Al-wabil, underscored the significance of the DAF tour of the AI exhibition in advancing cultural and societal relevance. They noted that sustained collaboration between universities and cultural institutions is essential to ensuring that educational programs remain firmly anchored in contemporary artistic and technological practice. This alignment not only strengthens academic inquiry but also equips students to assume meaningful roles as contributors to the cultural and creative industries. To fully realize the potential of Saudi Arabia’s creative economy, it is imperative to strengthen the bridge between academia and cultural institutions through joint research initiatives, curriculum integration, co-curated programs, and shared innovation hubs to ensure that the rapid growth of art and new media is sustainable and globally competitive. Aligning educational and cultural agendas supports the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 by cultivating a highly skilled, creative workforce, and fostering innovation at the intersection of art and technology.
Looking ahead, much more remains to be done to bridge the gap between academia and cultural institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As the nation invests in advancing its creative economy, deeper partnerships are essential to support the rapid growth of art and new media. By fostering sustained dialogue, joint programs, and collaborative research, these institutions can together cultivate the next generation of artists, scholars, and innovators who will shape the cultural and technological landscape of the Kingdom.
