Diriyah Art Futures selects 18 artists for new media programme

Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), a new-media arts hub in Saudi Arabia, has selected 18 artists from 12 countries for the second edition of its Emerging New Media Artists Programme, which runs from November 2025 through September 2026.

Operating in partnership with France’s Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains, the initiative is designed to support emerging talent at the intersection of art, technology and academia. The programme grants participants access to professional facilities, production budgets, mentorship from international digital-artists and guest lectures.

Set in Diriyah — the site of the UNESCO World Heritage Area of At-Turaif — the programme underscores the city’s ambition to position itself as a global centre for new-media art by giving young creators from Saudi Arabia and the MENA region a platform alongside international peers.
The year-long programme will conclude with 'Continuum', an annual exhibition showcasing the work of the cohort and providing a public forum for the exploration of immersive, generative and tech-driven art practices.

The selected artists include a diverse mix of practices and backgrounds, such as media artists working with immersive technologies, interactive systems, XR installations, AI critique, and digital-somatics. They hail from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Mexico, Uganda, China, Nigeria, Sudan and other countries.