Programming

Villa Hegra welcomed five Saudi dancers selected to take part in a dance residency held in AlUla from June 8 to 13, 2026.  

On the occasion of the third edition of the design fair MATTER and SHAPE, Villa Hegra created the Reading Room, presenting for the first time in France a collection of furniture pieces resulting from a collaboration between Saudi artist Badr Ali and Swiss company USM. This new space was designed to encourage learning and exchange around printed publications.

On the occasion of the AlUla Design Awards 2026, from 23 January to 14 February, Villa Hegra highlighted in its building the resident artists and designers who contributed to the design and layout of its spaces.

With the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, Villa Hegra hosted on 17 January 2026 a day dedicated to dance and performance, in partnership with Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse. This event highlighted the universal language of movement through Break On, a performance by choreographer Saïdo Lehlouh, bringing together French and Saudi hip-hop dancers, including Jeddah-based breakdancer Akram.

As part of the AlUla Arts Festival 2026 program, Villa Hegra presents Vertigo, a contemporary performance by Rachid Ouramdane, President and Director of Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse, with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. Developed from research conducted by Rachid Ouramdane during his residency at Villa Hegra, this aerial and immersive performanc, featuring the acrobats and highliners of the Compagnie de Chaillot, including Nathan Paulin, is accompanied by live music from Christophe Chassol, Saudi musicians and singers, and children from AlUla who trained in Villa Hegra’s movement workshops.

In the heart of AlJadidah’s arts district, Villa Hegra presented Not Deserted: AlUla’s Archives in Movement. The exhibition featured early 20th-century photographs taken by French traveler Tony André, in dialogue with a contemporary cinematic work by Saudi filmmaker and Villa Hegra resident Saad Tahaitah.

Developed in partnership with the Rodin Museum, this exhibition dedicated to the work of Auguste Rodin invites audiences to explore the master sculptor’s creative process through the study of hands, revealing the connection between gesture and artistic expression.

On October 21, 2025, Villa Hegra officially joined the international network of cultural villas, on the occasion of its participation in the ¡Viva Villa! festival, held at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris.

As part of Villa Hegra’s opening in October 2025, acclaimed French ceillist Gautier Capuçon was invited by Villa Hegra to meet and engage with music students from AlUla, presenting a masterclass at the AlUla Music Hub.

In collaboration with Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse, Villa Hegra presented, between October 2025 and January 2026, a series of workshops dedicated to movement, led by choreographer and Chaillot director Rachid Ouramdane, and dancer and choreographer Mayalen Otondo. Designed for the children of AlUla, these workshops invited participants to explore movement as a language of expression and connection. The series concluded with a final performance presented during the AlUla Arts Festival 2026.

As part of their partnership, Villa Hegra and the Philharmonie de Paris offered a series of music workshops for children, teenagers and families in AlUla. Four types of workshops were held on the Villa Hegra site, each tailored to a specific age group and dedicated to one of the major musical repertoires: classical music, traditional music from the Arabian Peninsula, and contemporary music.

Villa Hegra strengthened its presence in France by participating in the 2025 edition of Art Paris with NEUMA – The Forgotten Ceremony, a work by artists Sarah Brahim and Ugo Schiavi, originally presented in AlUla during the 2025 Arts Festival.

The contemporary dance performance Crossings, created by French choreographer Noé Soulier and performed by the Junior Ballet of the Opéra national de Paris, was presented by Villa Hegra in December 2024 in the exceptional setting of AlUla. This event marked the Junior Ballet’s very first public performance.

The performance presented by Villa Hegra at Maraya in AlUla, featuring Saudi and French artists, marked the Opéra national de Paris’ first-ever show in Saudi Arabia.

Villa Hegra, in collaboration with the Forum des Images, hosts cine-concerts, film screenings accompanied by live music specially created for the children of the AlUla community. The latest edition gathered nearly 150 participants.

Villa Hegra presents the second edition of its Creative Technologies Camp, organized in partnership with TUMO and the Forum des images: an immersive experience designed to introduce nearly 800 local teenagers to the full process of short film creation, artificial intelligence, and 3D modeling.

Villa Hegra’s Art, Science, and Cinema Workshops, held in partnership with La Rotonde–Saint-Étienne and CENTQUATRE-Paris, engaged over 100 children and teenagers from AlUla through interactive and educational activities.