Noor Riyadh 2025: Creative collaboration at the heart of the Historical Centre
- Claire Harkin
- Nov 21
- 3 min read
Noor Riyadh opens this week, transforming the city with light, performance and public art on a remarkable scale. For us, it marks the culmination of many months of collaboration in the Historical Centre, working alongside artists, curators, technical specialists and production teams from across the world. Although each installation has its own story, the project as a whole has been shaped by a shared commitment to honour these extraordinary artworks and the heritage settings that hold them.
As with all large-scale festivals, success comes from people rather than equipment, and this year’s festival has been an especially good reminder of that. Our work centred on delivering animated interpretations of artworks by three exceptional Saudi artists – Safeya Binzager, Mohammed Farea and Abdulrahman Alsoliman – with additional work for the Noor Riyadh Venice Capsule Exhibition earlier in the year. Across every stage, we were surrounded by generous, thoughtful collaborators who made the process as inspiring as the final results.
Creative partnership and trust
The animated content was produced in close collaboration with Rob Currie (Visual Edge Media), who brought immense sensitivity and technical precision to each piece. We worked across the organisational and technical aspects – managing process, working closely with production teams, and helping to make sure every work was displayed as the artists had intended – but the heart of the creative development was built on mutual trust between Rob, the participating artists and curator Sara Almutlaq.
Working with Sara was one of the real highlights of this year. Her curatorial leadership was warm, focused and deeply respectful of the artists’ practices. The open dialogue she created set the tone for how each artwork evolved into its spatial, animated form. For us, these relationships are what elevate festival work from “delivery” to something far more meaningful.
Historical architecture, contemporary interpretation
All of our installations were located in the Historical Centre, a place where Saudi heritage architecture meets contemporary artistic expression. This merging of old and new creates a natural sense of dialogue – and also a responsibility. These buildings carry stories, and the artworks carry stories, and the technology’s job is simply to make those stories visible.
At Al Masmak Fortress, the powerful forms and mark-making of Abdulrahman Alsoliman created a striking conversation with the building’s deeply rooted history.
At Murabba Historical Palace, Mohammed Farea’s vibrant visual language responded beautifully to the rhythm and geometry of the palace architecture.
For Safeya Binzager’s “Scenes of a Matrimony”, we approached the animation with quiet care, conscious of her legacy and the cultural significance of her work.
Each installation demanded its own approach, shaped by context rather than technology for its own sake.
International teamwork at scale
Behind the scenes, we were delighted to work with the brilliant teams at Filmmaster and MEDIAPRO, whose professionalism and problem-solving kept everything moving smoothly on the ground. Festivals of this scale rely on constant coordination between creative, technical and production teams, and we feel genuinely grateful for how collaborative this one has been.
There’s a real energy that comes from international teams converging to build something temporary yet deeply impactful. Noor Riyadh has always embraced that – and being part of it again, in such historically resonant locations, has been a privilege.
A festival built on generosity
More than anything, we are grateful for the artists’ trust in allowing us to interpret their work for projection and animation. These artworks represent lived experience, memory and cultural heritage; being invited to help bring them to life in a new form is not something we take lightly.
As Noor Riyadh opens to the public, we hope visitors feel the same sense of care, dialogue and shared creativity that shaped the process. It has been an honour to contribute to this year’s festival, and to work with so many dedicated, talented people who care as deeply about their craft as we do.
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