ArtDayME: Thikra: Night of Remembering is a performance born from a unique collaboration between Akram and acclaimed award-winning visual artist Manal AlDowayan.

Thikra recently premiered under the stars in the stunning ancient oasis of AlUla and was a Wadi AlFann commission for AlUla Arts Festival 2025. Akram and Manal AlDowayan took inspiration from the desert’s timeless landscapes, ancient myths and the rich cultural heritage of AlUla.

Manal AlDowayan worked with artisans from across AlUla to craft costumes and flags that weave traditional techniques with contemporary aesthetics. Using natural dyes and pigments developed with AlUla’s art and design centre, Madrasat Addeera. Through workshops and training sessions led by the Company and Manal, Thikra has connected and empowered the next generation of artists in AlUla.

For the site-specific version, an ensemble of 40 local participants led the audience in a grand procession to a circular stage set against the dramatic cliffs of a desert canyon. Guests sat beneath the stars on traditional Sadu-woven carpets, witnessing an imagined gathering where the performers evoke a shared sense of healing and transcendence by retrieving a lost past.

14 dancers come together to blend Bharatanatyam and contemporary, set to an original score by Aditya Prakash. With sound design from Gareth Fry, lighting design by Zeynep Kepekli, and dramaturgy by Blue Pieta, Thikra will be adapted for indoor venues in March 2025.

Video credit: AlUla Arts Festival 2025