Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
Saudi Arabia's first contemporary art biennale takes place in the JAX district of Diriyah, just outside Riyadh, running from 11 December 2021 - 11 March 2022.
Established in 2020 by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation opens Saudi Arabia’s first-ever art biennale, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, held from 11 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 in the JAX district of Diriyah, just outside Riyadh. A second biennale in 2022 will focus on Islamic arts.
The Contemporary Art Biennale is one of Saudi Arabia’s largest and most significant international displays of contemporary art to date, providing a platform for discovery and connection to Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning cultural scene and creative communities.
Developed by a team of international curators led by Philip Tinari (Director and Chief Executive of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, China) the Biennale unfolds in six sections, with works from national and international artists examining the theme “Feeling the Stones” and engaging visitors in a dialogue around contemporary art.
With works by 63 artists from Saudi Arabia and abroad, over half were new commissions by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, 27 are by Saudi artists with several from China.
The title and theme are drawn from the slogan “crossing the river by feeling the stones”, attributed to Chinese politician Deng Xiaoping who used it to describe how China navigated its social and economic transformation in the 1980s. Feeling the Stones draws parallels between China’s past and Saudi Arabia’s present – an influx of economic investment and a shifting global outlook in societies previously closed off to foreigners.
