Material Evolution and the Civic Language of Form in Riyadh
Seddek Wassil, Glory is. © Suzette Bell-Roberts
Since its launch in 2019 under Riyadh Art, the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium has established itself as one of the most visible public art initiatives in the Gulf region. Conceived as a live production platform rather than a temporary exhibition, the symposium invites Saudi and international artists to create monumental works on site in Riyadh. Once completed, these sculptures are permanently installed across the city, contributing to an expanding public art landscape that is reshaping the capital’s visual identity.
From the outset, stone has defined the symposium’s core identity. Granite is to be sourced locally from quarries in Saudi Arabia, including sites in and around Riyadh. Raw blocks are transported to the production site and carved during an intensive workshop period that remains open to public view. This stipulation ensures that the works are materially anchored in the Kingdom’s geology. The sculptures are not only displayed in Riyadh, but they also originate from its terrain, carrying the physical weight of place into the civic sphere.
The 2026 edition, titled Traces of What Will Be, signals both continuity and evolution. While granite remains central, this year marks the first time that steel has been incorporated as a primary medium, including a dedicated category for reclaimed and recycled metal. The decision expands the symposium’s formal vocabulary without abandoning its foundations.
Irena Posner, Dawn and Dusk. © Suzette Bell-Roberts
Granite demands a subtractive process. It requires artists to negotiate density, mass and resistance. Form emerges through removal. Steel, by contrast, allows for addition, extension and structural tension. It can suspend, brace or counterbalance stone. The introduction of metal shifts the sculptural conversation from weight alone to the relationship between weight and line. This dialogue between mass and tensile force reflects a city defined by both geological permanence and rapid urban construction.
The curatorial team for 2026, Sarah Staton, Rut Blees Luxemburg and Lulwah Al Homoud, has foregrounded abstraction and spatial clarity. Their approach resists overt narrative in favour of formal intelligence. Within this framework, material becomes structural rather than symbolic. Granite anchors a work physically and conceptually. Steel extends it into the surrounding space. The interplay between the two materials introduces new possibilities for scale, proportion and visual dynamism.
Under the direction of Sarah Alruwayti, Tuwaiq Sculpture has matured into a stable institutional platform. Its model is consistent, an international open call, a defined production period, public access to the making process and permanent installation across Riyadh. The introduction of steel does not disrupt this structure. Instead, it signals institutional confidence, an acknowledgement that contemporary sculpture operates across materials and that formal innovation requires flexibility.
Maisa Shaldan, Essence of the Earth. © Suzette Bell-Roberts
The theme Traces of What Will Be invites artists to consider transformation. In Riyadh, transformation is not abstract. The city is undergoing significant infrastructural and cultural expansion. New districts are emerging. Cultural institutions are consolidating their presence. Public art, within this context, becomes a mechanism for marking transition rather than simply commemorating the past.
The use of locally sourced granite situates each sculpture within a geological continuum that predates urban development. The addition of steel introduces a material associated with construction and modern industry. Together, the materials reflect a dialogue between extraction and fabrication, between natural formation and engineered design. The resulting works embody a tension between endurance and acceleration.
The symposium’s public nature remains central to its ethos. Visitors can observe artists shaping stone and assembling metal structures in real time. The visibility of labour reinforces sculpture as process rather than spectacle. Apprenticeship opportunities and educational programming accompany the production phase, providing emerging Saudi artists with direct exposure to large-scale fabrication techniques and international professional networks.
Zahra Rahimi, Traces of the Flow. © Suzette Bell-Roberts
Once installed, the sculptures occupy prominent civic locations across Riyadh. They are encountered along highways, within plazas and in pedestrian zones. Unlike works confined to museum interiors, these sculptures operate within the rhythms of daily life. Their success depends on spatial intelligence, proportion and resilience. They must withstand climate, scale and movement.
Tuwaiq Sculpture functions within the broader framework of Vision 2030, where culture is positioned as infrastructure. Alongside initiatives such as the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and the development of creative districts, including JAX, the symposium contributes to a long-term strategy to embed art within urban planning. Sculpture is integrated into the city’s development rather than tacked on.
The inclusion of a reclaimed and recycled metal category this year also introduces a sustainability dimension. By working with repurposed material, participating artists engage questions of reuse and material lifecycle. This aligns with global conversations on responsible production while remaining grounded in Riyadh’s specific growth conditions.
Olou, Nkyekyen a ebeba (Trace of what to come). © Suzette Bell-Roberts
Importantly, the symposium’s impact is cumulative. Each edition adds new works to the city’s expanding open-air collection. Over time, these sculptures form a network of landmarks that influence how the capital is navigated and remembered. They shape sightlines, create points of orientation and establish moments of pause within a rapidly developing urban environment.
Tuwaiq Sculpture 2026 demonstrates that evolution need not undermine identity. Granite remains central, locally sourced and carved in public view. Steel introduces structural possibility and conceptual range. Together, they articulate a refined material language that reflects both continuity and ambition.
As one of the Gulf region’s most visible public art initiatives, Tuwaiq has moved beyond its inaugural momentum. It now operates as a fixture within Riyadh’s cultural landscape. Its long-term significance will be measured not only by individual works but by the degree to which sculpture becomes embedded in the lived experience of the city.
Yasushi Hori, Sublimation. © Suzette Bell-Roberts
In 2026, the symposium affirms its foundational premise while expanding its scope. Stone anchors the project in place. Steel projects it forward. The result is a material dialogue that mirrors Riyadh’s own trajectory, grounded, deliberate and oriented toward what comes next.
Artists include: Abdulhameed Altokhais (Saudi Arabia), Azza Al Qubaisi (United Arab Emirates), Carole Jean Turner (United States of America), Emanuela Camacci (Italy), Hassan Ali Qureshi (Pakistan), Irena Posner (United Kingdom), Jamal A. Rahim (Bahrain), Jasem Mousa (Palestine), Jose Miguel (Chile), Komlan Samuel Olou (Ghana), Maisa Shaldan (Saudi Arabia), Maryam Turkey (Iraq), Mohammed Al Thagafi (Saudi Arabia), Nicola Fucci (Italy), Shahryar Hassan (Iran), Wafa Alqunibit (Saudi Arabia), Wiktor Kopacz (Poland), Yasushi Hori (Japan), Zahra Rahimi (Iran), Zilvinas Balkevicius (Iceland), Matthieu Elparo (France), Nilhan Sesalan (Turkey), Raya Kassissieh (Jordan), Saeed Gamhawi (Saudi Arabia), Seddiq Wassel (Saudi Arabia).
Brendon Bell-Roberts is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ART AFRICA magazine.
The exhibition closes on 22 February 2026.
