Museums Commission Opens ‘Cities Under Quarantine’ Exhibition at SAMoCA

Diriyah: The Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) in the Jax district of Diriyah inaugurated the 'Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project' exhibition, organized by the Museums Commission and open from August 28 to September 28. According to Saudi Press Agency, the exhibition showcases a series of artists' books created by Arab artists during the COVID-19 pandemic, capturing the profound sense of global isolation that reshaped life in the spring of 2020. Visitors encounter intimate testimonies that merge art, writing, and personal reflections, serving as mirrors to that extraordinary moment which unsettled the world and redefined human connection. The project traces its origins to an initiative launched by Abed Al Kadiri, who distributed 57 handmade books to Arab artists in cities around the world, inviting them to respond creatively to the reality of lockdown. The responses took shape as deeply personal works that reimagined places, desires, and silences, transforming solitude into a space for reflection. After debuting at Villa Romana in Florence and later at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, the project arrived in Saudi Arabia as its third stop, presented in Riyadh as an artistic archive of a fleeting yet pivotal human moment in contemporary history. The exhibition explores the suspension of life during the pandemic, where confinement reshaped human bonds and became a space for reflection and self-discovery. As part of its program, the exhibition will host two discussions on its second day, beginning with "The Visual Traces of the Self: Between the Hands and the Eyes," followed by "Printmaking and the Artist's Book." On September 6, the museum's atrium will hold a live performance titled "Today, I Would Like to Be," in which the public is invited to participate in the creation of an evolving artist book, culminating in the unveiling of the exhibited works. This exhibition highlights SAMoCA's role in fostering cultural dialogue and broadening artistic expression, in line with the Museums Commission's goal of supporting the local art scene while engaging with international creative practices. SAMoCA at Jax, inaugurated in 2023, serves as a permanent platform for contemporary art and a space for emerging voices through exhibitions, educational initiatives, and cultural programs, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030, which places culture at the heart of national development.