RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is experiencing a boom in all the various forms of creative expression and this is creating a wealth of opportunities, according to Saudi Canadian musician DJ Viva.
Appearing on the third episode of the seventh season of The Mayman Show, the artist — who has performed across the Kingdom and around the world, opening for global stars including David Guetta — recalled her first international performance, describing it as a nerve-racking experience.
“I was in Cannes at the Cannes electronic music festival, (which) happens every August over there,” she said. “It was very nerve-racking, but I loved it.
“It was good to see the difference between what’s happening here, locally (in Saudi Arabia), and how things are conducted internationally.”
Despite the nerves, she said was proud that she had been able to step out of her comfort zone and noted: “The audience there is very different. I feel like it is a bit more difficult to read them; maybe because I’m used to here (in the Kingdom).”
DJ Viva told how she left behind a career in academia to pursue a creative career and her adventure began as a result of a bold challenge from a friend.
“I used to teach at the business university in Jeddah,” she said. “One day, my friend, he was a DJ, came up to me. It was the first big event that happened here — at King Abdullah Economic City, when Tiesto was there — and he (my friend) was DJing on one of the yachts for the VIP guests.”
The friend asked her why she has not tried her hand at creating music. Given that she was an educator, she explained, the question initially seemed strange, but her friend wanted her to see how much time and effort it takes to be a music creator and his question was actually more of a challenge.
Beyond the musical realm, DJ Viva is also a certified aerial artist, the founder of an art gallery, and a brand collaborator who combines music, fashion and storytelling in her projects. She is also clear about what motivates her.
“For me, it’s the part that I get to create an impact on people’s lives and create a feeling,” she said.
“I mean, I always say that in a lot of my interviews; whether it’s visual arts, which I also do, or aerial arts or music, it’s all creativity. You must go inside yourself and take something out to give to people.”
It is all about giving something back and making an impact on the people around you, she added.
“With visual arts, it’s about people seeing your paintings,” she explained. “With music, it’s about what they’re hearing and how they react to it.”
DJ Viva appears very content with where she is at this stage of her career and has no regrets about her decision to shift from the halls academics to the creative world.
“I like the space that I’m in right now,” she said. “I love the creative realm. I find it much more fulfilling.”
Her upcoming plans include further work on a long-running project related to cosmetics.
“That’s something I’m going to be revisiting later this year,” she said. “I started during COVID-19 and it did take off very nicely. But unfortunately my partner in that (project), she passed away. So I kind of froze it for a while.”
In 2023, DJ Viva founded the Sensation Art Gallery in Jeddah, described as a modern, luxury, holistic art experience. Her concept for it is that it represents an expression of all the various types of creative work in which she is involved.
“If you attend the gallery, you’ll see that there’s the visual arts and then we have the DJs and the musicians outside,” she explained.
“We also have mixology and all the different types of food art happening there, as well as the aerial arts.”
As for the evolution of the creative scene in Saudi Arabia, DJ Viva said the country is “hungry for entertainment. That’s really such a good thing. It’s nice to see the excitement and to see how they appreciate music here — and creativity as a whole.”
As the wider development and transformation of the Kingdom continues, she said that the progress in all the creative industries is happening quickly and on an even bigger scale.
“I think, in the coming years we are going to be continuing that trajectory and there’s going to be a lot of growth,” she predicted.
