The mesmerising magnificence of digital art.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Jeddah’s Historic District has announced that teamLab Borderless Jeddah, the result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and global art collective teamLab, has attracted more than 52,500 visitors in its first two months of operation, since opening June 10. The success underscores the Ministry’s commitment to preserving the Kingdom’s heritage, while welcoming innovative forms of artistic and cultural expression from around the world, said Jeddah Historic District authorities. Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim Al-Issa, Director General of the Historic Jeddah Program, stated that the opening of the globally renowned interactive museum, teamLab Borderless Jeddah in the heart of Historic Jeddah, supported by the Minister of Culture, elevates Jeddah as a world-class tourist destination, offering visitors a unique cultural and tourism experience.

He highlighted the strategic vision behind selecting Jeddah Historic District as the site for the groundbreaking museum, in light of Saudi Vision 2030 and Jeddah’s growth into a premier global cultural and tourist destination.The teamLab Borderless Jeddah project is one of the Quality of Life Program’s initiatives to develop and foster cultural and arts exhibition infrastructure, aiming to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s contribution to arts and culture, one of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals.

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The cultural attraction’s drawcard is also reflected in the rapid ticket sales, with tickets sold out online from the opening day, until August 15. The museum’s ticketing website has garnered 890,000 visits, and the teamLab Borderless Jeddah Instagram account has grown to 20,900 followers, with total impressions reaching 10.02 million. teamLab Borderless Jeddah is the first permanent teamLab museum to open in the Middle East, offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy more than 80 interactive, digital artworks across a 10,000 square metre space. By hosting the museum and other creative cultural projects, Jeddah Historic District has heightened international attention, further establishing itself as a hub for culture and tourism.

  Guests immersed in digital art in Jeddah.

teamLab (founded 2001) is an international art collective. Their collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world. Through art, the interdisciplinary group of specialists, including artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects, it aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world, and new forms of perception. teamLab Borderless is a world of artworks without boundaries, and a museum without a map created by teamLab. “Artworks move out of rooms, communicate with other works, influence each other, and at times intermingle, without boundaries. Through this group of works, one continuous world without boundaries is created,” notes teamLab.

teamLab is represented by Pace Gallery, Martin Browne Contemporary, and Ikkan Art. teamLab Borderless Jeddah is a project in collaboration with ATHR Gallery. Pace Gallery is a leading international art gallery representing some of the most influential contemporary artists and estates from the past century. Pace enjoys a U.S. heritage spanning East and West coasts, through its early support of artists central to the Abstract Expressionist and Light and Space movements. Now in its seventh decade, the gallery advances its mission through a robust global programme — comprising exhibitions, artist projects, public installations, institutional collaborations, performances, and interdisciplinary projects.

Pace has a legacy in art bookmaking and has published over five hundred titles in collaboration with artists. Pace Gallery has seven locations worldwide, including European spaces in London and Geneva as well as Berlin. Pace was one of the first international galleries to establish itself in Asia; it operates permanent gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Seoul, along with an office and viewing room in Beijing. In September, it will open its first gallery space in Japan. Martin Browne Contemporary located in Sydney, Australia, showcases Australian and International modern and contemporary works of art. It also produces an extensive range of publications, which reaches major Australian and New Zealand public museums and private institutions as well as over 3000 private collectors in Australia and abroad.

Ikkan Art was founded in New York City in 1982 by Ikkan Sanada, dealer and art consultant. In 2011, Ikkan Art expanded to Singapore by establishing Ikkan Art Gallery with programmes that present museum quality artworks by international artists across a range of mediums including painting, sculpture, photography, video and new media art. Ikkan Art Gallery is also credited for launching the career of teamLab, the Tokyo-based art collective, first in Singapore then at the global art market level with the collaboration of Pace Gallery, USA and Martin Browne Contemporary, Australia.

Since its inception in Jeddah in 2009, ATHR Gallery, founded by Hamza Serafi­ and Mohammed Hafi­z, has played a pivotal role in building the contemporary art scene in Saudi Arabia. It supports young as well as established artists from Saudi Arabia and the Arab region, and has initiated international residencies, commissions, international group exhibitions, symposia, funding and more. ATHR has three locations in Jeddah, AlUla and Riyadh. Its sister company, ATHR Foundation, is dedicated to nonprofit art enrichment and is active in Diriyah, AlBalad in Jeddah, and in AlUla.  Saudi Arabia has a remarkable history of arts and culture and the Ministry of Culture is developing the Kingdom’s cultural economy and enriching the daily lives of citizens, residents, and visitors. Overseeing 11 sector-specific commissions, the Ministry works towards the support of and preservation of cultural markers that are true to their past and looks to the future by cherishing heritage and unleashing new and inspiring forms of expression.