Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), the MENA region’s first New Media Arts hub, has announced a call for applications for the second cycle of its Emerging New Media Artists programme, set to launch in October 2025.
Developed in partnership with Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains in France, the one-year programme offers access to cutting-edge professional equipment and facilities, a production budget and personal mentorship from prominent international digital and new media artists.
The first edition of the programme launched last November, alongside the highly anticipated opening of DAF in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The inaugural cohort featured 12 up-and-coming new media and digital artists from 11 countries, with strong representation from Saudi Arabia and the MENA region.
The programme begins with three-months of thematic and conceptual explorations of cutting-edge topics, presented by artists and theorists through seminars, lectures, screenings and workshops. Following this, participants will work under the mentorship of leading artists and scholars to produce new artworks using DAF’s world-class facilities, including advanced audio-visual techniques, immersive reality, coding, sensing, machine learning and spatial audio-visual environments. The final works will be exhibited at DAF as a final curated outcome of the programme.
DAF is now taking applications for the 2025 / 2026 Emerging New Media Artists programme. Applicants should be 35 years or younger, at graduate or postgraduate completion stage and have experience in developing and creating New Media and Digital Art. Candidates can find more information, selection criteria and apply to the programme here.
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Diriyah Art Futures (DAF) is an arts, research and education hub driven by a belief in the power of interdisciplinary creative practice at the intersection of art, science, and technology. Developed by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, DAF is the region’s first institution dedicated to New Media and Digital Arts. It is a space for collaboration, speculation and production by creative practitioners from across the globe, focused on research, documentation and producing new work.
Diriyah Art Futures invites participation from artists and scholars through upcoming public activities, educational programming, artistic and research residencies and grant opportunities. It aims to establish Saudi Arabia as a global centre for New Media and Digital Art, while amplifying the voice of the region in its engagement with art, science, and technology.
Set in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Diriyah, DAF reflects the Ministry of Culture’s commitment to preserving the country’s unique heritage while playing a pioneering role in developing and leading new art practices that will shape the future of art and humanity.
