Domingo Zapata to Paint the World's Largest Mural in Riyadh

Spanish artist Domingo Zapata has been commissioned to create a 540,000 square foot mural in Riyadh’s Diriyah cultural zone, described as the largest of its kind globally. The installation, roughly equivalent to nine football fields, is being developed within the wider USD 63 billion Diriyah project in the Saudi capital.

The mural is already two years into development and is expected to require a further five to six years to complete. Zapata is working with a multidisciplinary team of around 100 artists, engineers and architects on the large-scale installation.

The commission was made by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority as part of broader plans to position Diriyah as a cultural and heritage destination. According to Zapata, the surrounding urban plan includes a major avenue leading to a central square intended to host universities, research centres and technology institutions, with the mural integrated into a landscaped park environment.

Zapata has indicated that the work will adopt a hieroglyph-inspired visual language, referencing narrative traditions to reflect themes of art history, heritage and the cultural legacy of the Kingdom. He has described the project as one that allows expansive creative scope, noting that funding constraints are not a limiting factor in the execution of the piece.

The artist has previously completed large-format public works, including a 35-by-15-foot mural at Wynwood Walls in Miami in 2010 and a 15-storey, 300-foot vinyl mural on the façade of One Times Square in New York in 2019. The Diriyah installation will significantly exceed the scale of his earlier projects.