Lina Ghotmeh: ‘Being in AlUla, you start to understand all the beauty of the world’
ALULA: AlUla is no stranger to art. It is renowned as an “open-air natural museum” with 7,000 years of lived-in history. Even so, the upcoming AlUla Contemporary Art Museum, created as part of Saudi Vision 2030, is sure to be the talk of the town.
The famed Paris-based Lebanon-born architect, Lina Ghotmeh, was the winner of a global competition to design the new museum. Her design was selected by, according to a statement, “a panel of key stakeholders and specialists in architecture, landscape and museology, chaired by Dr. Khaled Azzam (director of The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London).”
Her winning design, according to Canvas magazine, “will be structured as a mosaic of pavilion galleries and artist gardens.”
In a quote reported by Arch Daily, Ghotmeh said: “The architecture of the contemporary art museum in AlUla immerses visitors in a creative journey from the desert expanse to the lush cultural oasis of AlUla, interweaving the natural environment, agriculture, and art to reveal the heart of contemporary culture. Through a series of garden pavilions, the museum presents a constant interplay between art and nature, capturing the essence of this unique place. The galleries offer surprising and anchored perspectives on the many facets of AlUla, from the microclimates of the oasis to the expanse of the desert, evoking a deep sense of attachment to the land and its heritage.”
