The “Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project” exhibition has opened at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) in Diriyah, organized by the Museums Commission.
Running until September 28, this distinctive exhibit captures the artistic responses of Arab creators to the global lockdown that reshaped human connections during spring 2020.
Originating as an initiative by Abed Al-Kadiri, the project involved distributing 57 handmade books to artists across the Arab world, inviting them to document their experiences of confinement.
The resulting works offer deeply personal interpretations—reimagining places, desires, and silences, and turning solitude into a source of profound visual contemplation.
Visitors will encounter creative testimonies merging art, writing, and introspection—reviving a moment in time when stillness prompted self and societal reflection.
This exhibition marks its third international stop, following displays at Villa Romana in Florence and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. In Diriyah, it serves as an artistic archive of a pivotal, transient moment in global history.
Additionally, the exhibition will feature a live participatory performance titled “Today, I Would Like to Be” on September 6—where visitors contribute to crafting a communal artist’s book.
The opening weekend also included two in-depth discussions on “The Visual Traces of the Self: Between the Hands and the Eyes” and “Printmaking and the Artist’s Book.”
