First outdoor art show in conservative Saudi

Dozens of paintings are being displayed on outdoor advertising billboards in the capital Riyadh and other cities in what organisers say is the kingdom’s first public art show.

“It is something new,” said Mohammed al-Khereiji, deputy chief executive of Al-Arabia Outdoor, the advertising firm behind the exhibition.

It opened Monday night along Riyadh’s glitzy Tahlia Street and runs until Saturday.

“For the first time, art is presented to the public,” although small indoor exhibitions have previously taken place in the kingdom, he said.

Sculptures have also been displayed in the open, including a permanent display along the corniche in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, and the country has some small galleries.

With about 3,400 billboards showing 80 paintings by Saudi artists, Khereiji called it “the biggest art gallery in the Middle East”.

Original article by Ian Timberlake

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First outdoor art show in conservative Saudi