Saudi Arabia’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Diriyah is currently hosting “Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project” exhibition, delving into the profound global isolation that redefined life in spring 2020, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Organized by the Museums Commission, the exhibition highlights intimate testimonies that combine art, writing, and personal reflections, reflecting the exceptional moment that unsettled the world and reshaped human connection.
Set to run until Sept. 28, the show showcases artists’ books created by Arab artists during the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting the aspects of life during this global isolation.
The event is inspired by an initiative launched by Abed Al-Kadiri, who distributed 57 handmade books to Arab artists all over the world. He invited them to respond creatively to the reality of lockdown.
Interestingly, these responses transformed into deeply personal works and turned solitude into a space for reflection by reimagining places, desires, and silences.
This truth aligns with the objective of the exhibition; to explore life in suspension during the pandemic, where confinement redefined human bonds and became a space for reflection and self-discovery.
Saudi Arabia represents the exhibition’s third stop, following Villa Romana in Florence and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha.
At the beginning of the event, the exhibition hosted two discussions: “The Visual Traces of the Self: Between the Hands and the Eyes” and “Printmaking and the Artist’s Book.”
Furthermore, the museum’s atrium hosted a live performance titled “Today, I Would Like to Be,” on Sept. 6, providing audience with an opportunity to participate in creating an artist’s book.
Related Topics:
Lomi Hasawi Exhibition Attracts Strong Turnout with Innovative Showcases
