Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium In Riyadh: Open-Air Art Maps The City’s Cultural Trajectory

The Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium is now in its seventh continuous edition, and organisers frame this year’s theme, "Traces of What Will Be," as a study of change. The event forms a central part of the Riyadh Art Program, under the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, which targets public art and daily life.

Officials describe the symposium’s role as supporting quality-of-life goals and the creative economy by placing art in shared spaces. Sculptures created for the programme are installed across Riyadh after completion, so works stay visible long after each edition, shaping how residents and visitors see the capital over time.

The symposium follows an approach known internationally as "live sculpture," where artists carve and shape works in open areas. Visitors can watch every stage, from first cuts to final surface details, and can observe artistic choices as they happen, rather than viewing finished pieces removed from their making.

In Riyadh, this live-making model develops a different character because of its regular repetition, strong link with the city’s streets and plazas, and a growing audience. The initiative does not operate as a short festival. Instead, it is planned as a long cultural process that continues across multiple years.

Since 2019, more than 170 artists have taken part, representing the Kingdom and many other countries. They work together on site, usually with similar stone and tools, and meet varied visitors each day. This shared setting encourages direct artistic exchange, based on practice and discussion beside the sculptures.

Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium and Riyadh Art Program impact

Organisers say that this accumulated experience has helped shape a clear identity for the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium. International art institutions and participating artists have gained confidence in Riyadh’s capacity to present open, long-term cultural projects, due to the continued hosting of editions and their integration with the city’s public spaces.

A key feature of the symposium is that sculptures do not disappear when each edition ends. Pieces are positioned across the urban environment, joining the city’s visual fabric and public memory. Residents may encounter a work many times, and its meaning can shift as neighbourhoods develop and daily patterns change.

The current theme, "Traces of What Will Be," underlines this sense of ongoing change, suggesting that artworks created now may hint at future possibilities. By existing in present-day streets and parks, the sculptures invite reflection on how Riyadh continues to develop, while maintaining a stable place for art in common areas.

With inputs from SPA