ArtDayME: Diriyah Art Futures (DAF), the first hub for new media arts in the Middle East and North Africa, has launched its second exhibition titled “Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Art in the Arab World.” The exhibition, featuring the participation of several artists and curators, is being held at DAF in Diriyah.

The show explores the history of new media art in the Arab world through more than 70 works by over 40 pioneering Arab artists. The Arabic term “Maknana,” meaning the act of entrusting a task to a machine or becoming part of it, frames the exhibition’s central question about how Arab artists have engaged with, repurposed, and challenged technology.

The featured works address themes such as digital protest, machine logic, memory preservation, speculative environments, and glitch aesthetics. The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections: automation, autonomy, ripples, and glitch.

It also reflects the evolving relationship between art and technology in the Arab context, showcasing how artists have used tools such as video, digital imagery, data, programming, and sound to explore identity, memory, and social change.

The exhibition runs until July 19.

Video credit: Diriyah Art Futures