Art Pharmacy is proud to deliver the Public Art Strategy for the Qiddiya Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), part of Qiddiya City – the world’s first city built for play.
Rising from the desert outside Riyadh, Qiddiya embodies imagination and innovation, with QPAC as its cultural anchor that unites performing arts, education, and visual arts in an immersive, open-air precinct.
Strategy and Approach
Arts and culture are central to Qiddiya’s identity, reflecting values of play, imagination, and innovation. Public art has the power to integrate and elevate Qiddiya’s wider offer across entertainment, sport, and community. Our strategy aligns with national initiatives like Vision 2030 and the Quality of Life Program by expanding access to culture, nurturing local talent, and delivering world-class public experiences.
Our research-led strategy is designed to align with QPAC’s bold, otherworldly design by Tom Wiscombe Architects. By carefully analysing site features, from plazas and entrances to lobbies and circulation zones; we identified opportunities where art can be immersive, participatory, and site-responsive.
We draw on extensive experience in public realm interventions to ensure each artwork enhances placemaking and supports intuitive way-finding, all while maintaining strong curatorial standards and reliable project delivery.
This approach extends Qiddiya’s spirit of play into civic space, enriching QPAC as a cultural anchor for performance, education, and visual arts. Here, play is not decorative but immersive and spatially embedded, defining QPAC as an inclusive, intergenerational, future-facing cultural destination.
Sustaining and Activating Culture
The integration of artist procurement has been integral to our approach, embedding diversity and artist development by ensuring that 70% of selected artists are Saudi-based. Our public art procurement follows best-practice principles, giving precedence to internal voices – centering artists and art workers throughout the process.
We also prioritise sustainability through local craftsmanship and manufacturing, ensuring transparent budgeting, and following ethical partnership guidelines. We provide comprehensive maintenance guidelines to ensure artworks remain impactful over time, a crucial part of a sustainable cultural strategy.
Recognising that public art doesn’t happen in isolation, we also recommend partnership strategies to activate QPAC as a cultural hub, collaborating with local institutions and expanding opportunities for programming, education, and audience engagement.
A Vision of Play and Connection
Underpinned by a clear curatorial framework, QPAC’s public art strategy embraces play as central, inviting all ages to engage, discover, and connect.
Through thoughtful planning, local partnerships, and creative ambition, we’re helping Qiddiya City deliver on its promise to be a world-class destination for culture, creativity, and community.
