59 artists illuminate noor riyadh 2025 as dazzling city-wide artwork

noor riyadh 2025 highlights city through art

The world’s largest festival of light and art, Noor Riyadh, dazzles the Saudi capital from November 20 to December 6, 2025, elevating everyday spaces into extraordinary encounters. The festival brings together an inspiring roster of 59 international artists from 24 countries, including a vibrant mix of leading global names and pioneering Saudi talents, to explore the city’s rapid transformation through the mesmerizing medium of light.

from November 20-December 6, Noor Riyadh, dazzles the Saudi capital (Liminal Air Space-Time by Shinji Ohmaki) | all images courtesy of Noor Riyadh

noor riyadh in the blink of an eye

Titled ‘In the Blink of an Eye,’ the 2025 edition of Noor Riyadh reflects the quickening pace of change that is shaping Saudi Arabia’s capital city. Organized under the umbrella of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and Riyadh Art, it features a spectacular lineup of 60 artworks, including more than 35 new commissions created specifically for the event. The festival also pays a poignant special tribute to the late Safeya Binzagr (1940–2024), an icon of Saudi modernism and the first Saudi female artist to host a solo exhibition back in 1968.

This exclusive program unveils installations that play with light’s fundamental properties: Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto presents a luminous, site-specific iteration of his iconic Third Paradise, reflecting harmony and unity within the Qasr Al Hokm District. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti conceptual artist Monira Al Qadiri’s commission features her signature iridescent, oil-drop forms, using dazzling light to explore themes of abundance and extraction at a major public location. James Clar’s work at the KAFD Metro Station utilizes custom LED arrays to create a perception-altering, tunnel-like experience, while Ivana Franke’s installation employs semi-transparent screens and carefully orchestrated light pulses to challenge spatial awareness and depth perception, creating an immersive optical result.

the festival brings together an inspiring roster of 59 international artists from 24 countries (Sliced by Encor Studio)

59 artists respond to riyadh’s pulse

This grand celebration of creativity, light, and movement showcases how art can capture the very momentum of a city. The curatorial vision connects Riyadh’s historical heart to its futuristic vision, inviting audiences to encounter light as a medium for perception, memory, and momentum. Led by an international team – featuring Mami Kataoka (Curatorial Advisory Lead; Director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo), Riyadh-based curator Sara Almutlaq, and Li Zhenhua (Curator and founder of Beijing Art Lab) – the program integrates the installations across six key locations. From the historical Qasr Al Hokm District and King Abdulaziz Historical Center to the modern marvels of stc Metro Station and KAFD Metro Station, alongside Al Faisaliah Tower and JAX District, Noor Riyadh seamlessly weaves itself into the city’s evolving urban fabric.

Festival Director Nouf Almoneef notes, ‘Each work captures the city’s momentum through light, reminding us that creativity is a universal language that connects cultures and inspires dialogue.‘

It reminds audiences of the power of art. The festival transforms normal public spaces into dazzling, shared wonders, echoing Riyadh Art’s mission to enrich daily lives through creativity and collective experience.

the festival features a spectacular lineup of 60 artworks, including more than 35 new commissions created specifically for the event