Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, January 30, 2026
The third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, titled “في الحِلّ والترحال” / In Interludes and Transitions, opened its doors to the public on January 30, 2026, and runs through May 2. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale takes place at JAX, Diriyah’s creative district, close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif.
Led by Co-Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, In Interludes and Transitions is conceived as a choreography in which histories, ancestors, and migrations move together through song, stories, dance, and whirlwinds. It unfolds through various movements inspired by the flows, migrations, and transformations that have long connected the Arab region with the world. The 2026 edition features the work of 68 artists representing more than 37 nations, and includes more than 25 new commissions.
The exhibition scenography, created by design studio Formafantasma, reimagines the JAX creative district’s industrial architecture as a weightless arrangement of color and form. The design guides visitors through a flowing composition of shifting planes and curved passages in a continuous, immersive movement across 12,900 square meters of exhibition halls, courtyards, and terraces.
The 2026 edition of the Biennale foregrounds musicality as a way of probing the essential role oral and aural modes of knowledge transfer have played in transmitting social histories in the Arab region and beyond. This is exemplified through a specially commissioned procession by Saudi artist Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan), titled Folding the Tents (2026), which moves through the Wadi Hanifah valley and the JAX District, concluding with a performance by the musical group Miniawy Trio. In the performance, supported by Lexus, the multidisciplinary artist explores the notion of the procession, its transformation, and the inventiveness of an ancient practice in the age of electric, electronic, and digital culture, weaving pertinent connections between gestures of the past and practices of today.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome audiences from near and far to the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026. The 2026 edition marks the foundation’s fifth biennale since its inception five years ago, and documents a remarkable breadth of artistic practices from across regions and disciplines, and it speaks to an exciting moment in artistic activity around the world, with more centers of work and thinking gaining greater visibility. We are grateful for the continued opportunity to platform artists, drive cultural exchange, and invest in our community. That this exhibition is taking place at JAX District, our home in Diriyah, demonstrates our role as a convener and incubator of creativity in Saudi Arabia and far beyond.”
Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, Co-Artistic Directors of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026: “With the opening of In Interludes and Transitions, we invite audiences to move through and with the biennale, and experience a range of artworks, ideas, and propositions that speak to our world today – a world in flux, in movement, in constant procession, and to share in an invocation of the world shaped not by fixity, but by itinerancy; not by single points of origins, but by overlapping vectors of routes, rhythms, and relations.” |
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NOTES TO EDITORS
CURATORIAL TEAM
The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 is led by Co-Artistic Directors Nora Razian, Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at Art Jameel in Jeddah and Dubai; and Sabih Ahmed, a curator, cultural theorist, and educator serving as Projects Advisor at the Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai. They are joined by a team of international curators: Maan Abu Taleb, May Makki, Kabelo Malatsie, and Lantian Xie. The Milan-based architect Sammy Zarka has been appointed as Associate Architect and Exhibition Designer to collaborate closely with the curatorial team.
FULL ARTIST LIST
Pacita Abad, Pio Abad, Rand Abdul Jabbar, Abdullah Miniawy Trio, Etel Adnan, Yussef Agbo-Ola [Olaniyi Studio], Leen Ajlan, Ahaad Alamoudi, Elyas Alavi, Afra Al Dhaheri, Shadia Alem, Mohammad Al-Ghamdi, Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan), Nouf Al-Harthi, Ramy Alqthami, Abdullah Al Saadi, Ruba Al-Sweel, Lulua Alyahya, Ismaïl Bahri, Taysir Batniji, Dineo Seshee Bopape (Raisibe), Raven Chacon, Ayman Yousry Daydban, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Rohini Devasher, Merve Ertufan, Ivana Franke, Rahima Gambo, Eric Gyamfi, Samia Halaby, Petrit Halilaj, Hazem Harb, Aziz Hazara, Ho Rui An, Alana Hunt, Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, Amaka Jaji, Kayfa ta, Yazan Khalili, Moshekwa Langa, Daniel Lind-Ramos, George Mahashe, Guadalupe Maravilla, Naminapu Maymuru-White, Théo Mercier, Nour Mobarak, Mochu, Nancy Mounir, Hussein Nassereddine, Daniel Otero Torres, Thảo Nguyên Phan, Gala Porras-Kim, Sarker Protick, Abdelkarim Qassem, Raqs Media Collective, K.P. Reji, Faisal Samra, Oscar Santillán, Amina Saoudi Aït Khay, Bogosi Sekhukhuni, Karan Shrestha, Elias Sime, Trương Công Tùng, Rajesh Chaitya Vangad, Wolff Architects, Agustina Woodgate, Müge Yılmaz, and Yu Ji.
ABOUT THE DIRIYAH BIENNALE FOUNDATION
Inspired by the changes taking place in Saudi Arabia and the heritage site of Diriyah, and chaired by H.H. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation (DBF) assumes a critical role in nurturing creative expression and instilling an appreciation for culture and the arts and their transformative potential. The Foundation aspires to be a catalyst for lifelong learning and serves Saudi Arabia’s communities by offering opportunities to engage with the burgeoning local art scene. Central to the Foundation’s mandate is to stage two recurring world-class Biennales of contemporary and Islamic arts, year-round interactive educational programs, and overseeing the activation of JAX, a creative district with industrial heritage in Diriyah. At this historic moment of evolution and growth in Saudi Arabia, DBF’s Biennales showcase some of the world’s leading artists, drive cultural exchange between the Kingdom and international communities, promote dialog and understanding, and further establish Saudi Arabia as an important cultural center.
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