Inside Riyadh's Al Mousa Centre: An abandoned shopping mall that is now a bustling arts hub

An old shopping mall in Riyadh has been steadily transformed into an art hub, housing several of the Saudi capital’s leading galleries. Unsurprisingly, it is also a highlight venue of Art Week Riyadh.

Al Mousa Centre embodies all the distinctive charm of a late-20th century building from the region. A concrete grey structure with balconies that jut out with chamfered edges, the building also features blue windows and arched designs on its penthouse floors. Its interior is just as nostalgic. It features octagonal columns, perforated latticed ceilings and geometric designs on the edges of the cultured marble flooring.

The centre was built in the 1980s and was once a thriving commercial destination, with shops selling everything from textiles to perfumes. It had lost most of its splendour at the turn of the century, but has been experiencing a resurgence since the Covid-19 pandemic.

While a few shops still exist in the space, Al Mousa Centre has become an address primarily associated with art. The centre has about 20 galleries, each with a distinctive mission. While some focus on photography, modern artworks and more traditional mediums, there are institutions dedicated to highlighting cutting-edge artworks.

Several of these galleries are hosting programmes specifically curated for Art Week Riyadh, which runs until Sunday.

Errm Art Gallery, for instance, is presenting an exhibition featuring 20 Arab women artists. These include works by Reem Al Faisal. The Saudi documentary photographer is known for capturing expressions of faith in her works, particularly with her series of works that document the Hajj pilgrimage, which are being exhibited.

The gallery is also showing the vibrant embroidery of Egyptian artist Aliaa Elgready, the colourful and effervescent canvasses of Kuwaiti artist Ghadah Alkandari, as well as paintings by Lebanese artist Tagreed Darghouth that depict machinery of war with an evocative, impressionist-like wash.

A work from Saudi artist Maha Malluh’s famous Oil Candies series is also being exhibited. The colourful but crushed barrel is affixed to the wall and is meant as a reflection of the societal change spurred by oil.

“This exhibition is part of a series of shows we’re doing this year highlighting Arab women artists,” says Mohammed Abdullah Al Saawy, founder of Errm Art Gallery. “It aims to show the role and influence of women in the regional fine arts. We have representations from most of the Arab world.”

Al Saawy is among the forerunners in Riyadh’s gallery network. He started Errm Art Gallery in 2005 at Kingdom Centre. The gallery moved to Al Mousa Centre in 2020. Al Saawy says his primary focus as a galleries has been to highlight the works of Arab artists who move to study and practice abroad.

“I wanted to bring diverse influences to the Saudi art scene,” he says. “Sometimes the artists would come here and have conversations with local practitioners. It is a great way of cross-cultural communication as well as nurture the Saudi creative scene.”

Abdullah Alahmari, founder of AV Gallery, is driven by a similar ethos. While the gallery also routinely exhibits artists from across the Arab world and its diaspora, it also has a dedicated workshop and studio space. Artists frequently gather at the gallery, working on paintings and sharing the nuances of their practices, he says.

“I had the ambition of opening a gallery for a long time, and in 2021 we established the space here,” he says. “I was lucky to get this large space at Al Mousa Centre. We have symposia and gatherings here all the time. Artists from across the Arab world and as far as the Netherlands.”

A major highlight at the centre is Ahlam Gallery. The space is particularly known for its penchant to showcase works that challenges viewers’ perception of art. The gallery was founded by Ahlam Alshedoukhy in 2020, just as changes were sweeping through Saudi Arabia granting women more rights, particularly in the business world.

While the gallery is named after her, Alshedoukhy says that, to her, it more aptly resonates with its meaning. “I decided to open this gallery and call it Ahlam, as a dream, because it was a dream come true,” she says. “We opened immediately after the Covid pandemic. We chose Al Mousa Centre because it is at a prime location, right in the centre of Riyadh.”

For Art Week Riyadh, the gallery is showcasing works by two artists with very dissimilar processes. In Our homes face the direction of the Qibla, Mecca-born Saddek Wasil presents a series of sculptures that utilise salvaged materials, ranging from scrap metal and concrete to porcelain.

“I decided to present Wasil because I’m in love with his philosophy,” she says. “He is a scrap metal artist. He worked on this collection that was specifically produced for Art Week Riyadh.”

Alshedoukhy says the artist meant to start “an open dialogue about faith, and whether it offers a direction towards enlightenment.”

The other artist Ahlam Gallery is presenting is Leonel Moura. The Portuguese conceptual artist is presenting a series dubbed Arabia Robotic Paintings. The large-scale canvasses were created using artificial intelligence and robotic technology, which are exhibited alongside the works.

“I was fascinated with his work. He's a highly achieved artist,” Alshedoukhy says. “He works together with a fleet, which he calls his ‘swarms of robots’. He gives them an algorithm that is based on a study on ants, how they live and work. These lines, they catch your eyes, and you start being like a kid trying to retrace them.”

Alshedoukhy says she knows the work may not be the general public’s conception of art, but that is precisely the point. “Al Mousa Centre is right opposite the public library and garden. Sometimes families come in from across the street. They come, see the works and ask ‘what is this? Why is it so expensive? Do people really buy this?’”

However, this initial aversion soon develops into thoughtful curiosity, as people yearn to understand more about the works. “I have the most enriching conversation with them,” Alshedoukhy says. “And then they keep coming, and they keep coming.”

Other galleries are more steadfast in their focus of works created on traditional media. These include Ama Art Venue. “The gallery started in 2014. We focus primarily on paintings on canvas,” says Omar Al Sham, an artist represented by the institution. The gallery represents several notable figures from Saudi, including Dia Aziz Dia, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Sulaiman, as well as the wider region, such as Adel El Siwi and George Bahgoury.

Al Sham says moving to Al Mousa Centre has enriched the gallery’s experience, placing it in the centre of a thriving network of art institutions. “It had been abandoned,” he says. “The galleries congregated here and gave it a new life.”