{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 8: Curators and artists reflect on the impact of Desert X AlUla","description":"On the final episode of the Desert X&amp;nbsp;AlUla&amp;nbsp;podcast, curators and artists look back at Desert X&amp;nbsp;AlUla, and reflect on the art and the politics of the collaboration. This first exhibition of site-specific contemporary art in Saudi Arabia brought artists from the Arab world and the West together at a moment of great change in Saudi Arabia. But the collaboration also provoked controversy in the West. Neville Wakefield and&amp;nbsp;Raneem&amp;nbsp;Farsi talk about their shared desire to stimulate cross-cultural engagement and how the artworks achieved this. Artists&amp;nbsp;Lita Albuquerque, Manal AlDowayan&amp;nbsp;and Sherin&amp;nbsp;Guirguis&amp;nbsp;and explain why they felt they had to participate. \u201cI think what we're doing here is about art,\u201d says Albuquerque, \u201cand it's not about retreating, but it's about making a statement to actually open up conversation, open up the doors. That goes beyond politics.\u201d ","author_name":"Desert X AlUla Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.desertx.org\/alula","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/13569908\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/67334774"}