"What Lies Within" brought together works from the past two decades by some of the most significant artists of Saudi Arabia and its diaspora from the private collection of Saudi patron and collector Basma AlSulaiman.

The exhibition was the first in a series in AlUla celebrating the legacy of pioneering collectors and patrons in Saudi Arabia, who have sparked and steered the country’s relationship with the arts, paving the way for a flourishing cultural sector today.

Alongside building a collection of both Saudi and international artists, a decade ago AlSulaiman founded BASMOCA, the first virtual museum in the world to use cutting edge gaming technologies allowing wide audiences to view works and engage as avatars within its museum space. Exhibiting this collection publicly for the first-time linked AlSulaiman’s work in the digital space to the physical world.

The exhibition featured seminal works by Shadia Alem, Manal AlDowayan, Maha Malluh, Dana Awartani, Ahmed Mater, Zahrah AlGhamdi, Abdulnasser Gharem, Lulwah AlHomoud, Rashed AlShashai, Adel AlQuraishi, Mohammed AlGhamdi, Musaed AlHulis, Nasser AlSalem, Noha AlSharif, Filwa Nazer, Saddek Wasil and Ayman Yossri Daydban.

What Lies Within marked the first time that these important works were shown together in Saudi Arabia. The dynamic group of seventeen participating artists brought together a prominent generation in the development of Saudi contemporary art and its reception internationally.

Displayed in the iconic Maraya building– one of the world’s architectural wonders, with 9,460 square meters of mirrors covering its exterior walls – this temporary exhibition welcomed visitors who seeked to discover the artistic energy present in Saudi. The exhibition coincided with Desert X.