Over the course of 12 weekends from December 2019 to March, an art, music and culture extravaganza descends upon the Al-Ula region.

China’s intense urban growth, paired with investment and the emergence of a middle class, has created a fertile architectural playground.

The Max Mara Art Prize for Women. The only visual art award for women in the UK, the prize is due to be announced in early 2020,

The 1930s were a particularly fertile moment in British architectural history. Marking the Bauhaus centenary, RIBA sheds new light.

Large-scale installations populate London’s annual Winter Lights festival. It brings audiences together to sit, dance, play and absorb.

Aesthetica collates inspiring illuminations to see this festive period – transforming historic buildings and city streets in intriguing ways.

Nuno Serrão’s images consider how information is handled, shared and perceived, demonstrating a sensitivity and a curiosity for the planet.

Greet Van Hootegem roams desolate desert lands, revelling in the subtle textures of mountain formations, lone huts and empty roads.

Lance Chang uses distortion and blur to enhance the movement and dreamlike quality of his photographs. Resembling the waves of the aurora borealis, his art taps into beautiful and, at times, foreboding worlds.

Through video works Heesoo Agnes Kim plays upon the notion of dreams and deals with issues of identity and the social influences that affect how a personality is constructed.

National Museum Cardiff looks at the ever-changing story of photography in a new season, presenting work from four influential names.

A field of fallen moons shines at sunset. A sea of glowing spheres stretches into the distance. These are the sights created by Bruce Munro.

Helene Schmitz is an environmental photographer. The works reveal humanity’s unprecedented impact on the earth’s wild places and landscapes.

American author Wright Morris started photographing in 1933. He recorded the aftermath of the Great Depression in the US.

Borders, ecological crisis and the human condition. These are the themes explored in this week’s recommended photography exhibitions.

An anonymous figure darts through the rain. Smoke billows in the darkness. A sense of mystery can be found in René-Jacques’ images.

The winners of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award have been announced, celebrating excellence in contemporary poetry and fiction.

Mark Power’s ‘Good Morning, America’ is a series capturing a moment of change. It traverses the US, revealing a fictional world that never existed.

Italian photographer Maria Maglionico offers a correlation between the foreground and background of images – they seamlessly blend into one another.

Francesca Woodman took her first photograph at the age of thirteen. MCA Denver explores how the artist discovered a unique creative voice.

Swiss luxury skincare brand La Prairie explores its connection with Bauhaus – presenting linear set designs and foregrounding a synthesis with art.

Aesthetica selects 10 ideas for art and culture lovers. This list offers a variety of inspiration – including gallery memberships, gift sets and more.

Malaga Island is an uninhabited place located off the coast of Maine, US. American artist Theaster Gates explores its troubled past in new works.

A new publication foregrounds an age of innovation and experimentation, pushing the boundaries of architecture through poetic and geometric forms.

Artist and innovator Doug Aitken is at the forefront of 21st century communication, presenting a space between the physical and virtual.

Reflected mountain ranges. Splashes of water. White clouds drifting past. Morozova’s images complement natural elements with bold, colourful fashion.

How do we define the notion of home? What happens when a house is left behind? Gohar Dashti’s images reveal the true power of nature.

Guillaume Simoneau’s works are crisp, bright and clean, presenting a diverse and compelling depiction of Canada’s topographies.

Portraits reveal truths about the human condition – how we present ourselves to the world. Bey explores the dialogue between sitter and subject.

Sitting between photography and field research, Eddo Hartmann’s images depict the vulnerability of ecosystems in the age of post-industrialisation.

Inspired by the busy streets on the island of Corsica, So AsA began to build up a portfolio of silhouettes, having originally shot in black and white.

A groundbreaking photography series depicts one of the world’s most important ecological locations as well as its diverse cultural narratives.

Thomas Jordan is influenced by the northwest Chicago suburbs. These compositions transform everyday scenes into jewel-tone utopias.

Ian Howorth’s cinematic images, captured through analogue film, revel in the authenticity of opportunity, spontaneity and chance.

Photographer Olivia Jeczmyk’s series focuses on simplicity and geometry – drawing attention to household items through minimalist design.

Aleksander Malachowski is a Warsaw-based, working at the intersection of photography, geometry and symmetry.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art’s latest show is a timely and necessary celebration of Judy Chicago and her contributions to contemporary art.

Kent’s Studio 3 Gallery showcases local art through open submissison. It displays the rich variety of creative practice in the region.

Must-see shows for early December offer all-encompassing experiences. Light installations look towards perception and wellbeing.

This issue of Aesthetica, ‘Listen and Respond’, invites you to engage with our times. Featured: Doug Aitken, Dawoud Bey, Eddo Hartmann and Tales of Us.

Faces appear from a crown of palm leaves. Bodies collide and make shapes. Butterflies scatter in minimal portraits. This is work by Ren Hang.

Ghana-born British filmmaker John Akomfrah’s ‘Vertigo Sea’ looks at humanity’s complex relationship with water throughout history.

A flock of arms reaches out from the side of the frame like blades of grass. Elia Pellegrini’s photographs ask audiences to stop, pause, consider.

Michael Wolf was a chronicler of life in cities. Across a career of over 40 years, he photographed expansive buildings from Paris to Hong Kong.

The climate crisis, community and the nature of reality are examined in these shows – recommended picks for the end of November.

The urban landscape is the focus of ‘Street. Life. Photography.’ at Kunst Haus Wien. The show charts the evolution of the genre since 1930.

Truth, myth and the spaces in-between. A new show at The Civic, Barnsley, explores the way the North of England is depicted and constructed.

Melbourne-based photographer Tom Blachford returns with ‘Centro Verso’. The series turns the city into an impossible, neon-bathed dystopia.

“To make a long story short, I’m not a very organised person.” So opens Bruce Gilden’s new monograph – New York negatives from 40 years ago.

A neon pink ladder rises towards the sky. Mysterious fog spreads across a river. Giant clouds hover above a crowd. Lumiere festival returns.