Four Years Later...

Revisiting the 2022 AlUla Visitor Center for Desert X 2026

For the 2026 edition of Desert X in AlUla, the decision was made to re-use the site from the 2022 edition. Logistically this made sense; the infrastructure is already in place—roads, cell network towers, and a visitor center (architected by KWY.studio). The 2020 site was adapted to be part of a resort in that canyon, and the 2024 visitor center, while arguably set in a more interesting landscape, was not chosen for reuse this year¹. It made our life documenting the exhibition a lot easier since we didn’t have to deal with working around site construction at the same time as the installation of the artworks.

The visitor center had been painted in a sand color that blended into the surrounding environment. I wasn’t sure if the architects wanted any new photography of the space, but I reached out to them since we were already there to document the exhibition. Not only were they interested in capturing the space again, it turned out they had planned to attend the exhibition as well, which made for a nice opportunity to catch up with them in person. We didn’t have the time to do a comprehensive photoshoot covering every angle again, nor was it really necessary. But we did revisit a few prior compositions of the space as they wanted to see it without the view-blocking planter that was placed in the middle of the visitor center in 2022.

During our site visits to document the artwork², I had seen that the building looked incredible as it emerged from the shadows of the canyon in the early morning light. Furniture was still wrapped in protective plastic so I had to run around unwrapping patio furniture before I completely lost the shadow on the hill.

As these things go, I only had one day to shoot these photos, which was opening day of the exhibition. Our flight out of Saudi Arabia was also that evening—fortunately late enough to give me the whole morning and afternoon to shoot.³

I love taking these photos with people in them but the exhibition didn’t begin until later that day so unfortunately my morning-light shots didn’t really have anyone in them.

As the day went on, I was able to settle into the groove of taking hundreds of frames as more visitors (and staff) arrived, trying to capture good moments. I didn’t have as much luck as I had in years past... It’s tough when you don’t have the luxury of time, but I was able to find some parallels between the 2022 and 2026 shots...

It was great to see and document the evolution of this building. It’s a special space set in an amazing landscape—often surrounded by incredible art.

You can read about my previous experience shooting this building for the 2022 exhibition here.

¹ Unfortunately, it was discovered that the 2024 visitor center had been vandalized. This is surprising given how safe it generally is in Saudi Arabia. I didn’t get a chance to get out to that site (I would have liked to photograph it), but the architects Luise and Ricardo went to see it and were pretty devastated.↩

² I assist Lance Gerber in documenting the artwork for Desert X—a pretty awesome opportunity!↩

³ At this time of year the building is completely in the shadow of the nearby rock formation by 4:00 PM, so while I would have loved to have a few days to shoot, at least I was able to shoot until there was no more light on the building.↩