An expanded international team sets the stage for Saudi Arabia’s third edition, opening January 30, 2026
The curatorial team of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026. From left to right: Maan Abu Taleb, May Makki, Kabelo Malatsie, Lantian Xie (Curators) and Sammy Zarka (Associate Architect and Exhibition Designer). Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation announces that the third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will open on January 30, 2026, in the JAX District of Diriyah, near Riyadh. Led by Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, the Biennale brings together an expanded team of international curators, marking a significant step in the Foundation’s mission to deepen global connections while advancing Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing cultural landscape.
A curatorial team of global reach
Razian, Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at Art Jameel in Dubai and Jeddah, and Ahmed, curator, cultural theorist, and Projects Advisor at Ishara Art Foundation, lead a curatorial team that reflects a broad spectrum of disciplines and geographies. Maan Abu Taleb, May Makki, Kabelo Malatsie, and Lantian Xie join them. Milan-based architect Sammy Zarka has also been appointed as Associate Architect and Exhibition Designer, tasked with shaping the Biennale’s immersive environment.
Bringing together expertise across visual art, literature, philosophy, music, performance, and architecture, the curatorial team signals the Biennale’s intention to expand beyond the exhibition format into a space of exchange. Their combined experience spans major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Kunsthalle Bern, Art Jameel, and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, as well as notable contributions to the Venice Biennale, Sharjah Biennial, Dhaka Art Summit, Yokohama Triennale, and Shanghai Biennale.
“This curatorial team brings together a wide range of voices shaped by different disciplines, ranging from music and performance to literature and architecture,” notes Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. “Their experience demonstrates the evolving role of contemporary art as a space of exchange, and I hope to see that this will open new pathways for artists and audiences in Saudi Arabia.”
Building on momentum
Since its inception in 2021, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale has emerged as one of the most ambitious cultural initiatives in the region. Its first edition, Feeling the Stones, curated by Philip Tinari in 2022, and the second, After Rain, curated by Ute Meta Bauer in 2024, together welcomed more than 340,000 visitors. Both editions brought international and Saudi artists into dialogue, establishing the Biennale as a platform where local voices resonate within global conversations.
The 2026 edition continues this trajectory, foregrounding the role of contemporary art in a nation undergoing rapid social change. The Biennale once again unfolds in the JAX District, a 15-hectare creative quarter with industrial heritage. Home to artists’ studios and exhibition spaces, the district offers a dynamic setting where the Biennale can expand into newly activated venues and weave programming throughout its urban fabric.
The curators at a glance
- Maan Abu Taleb: Co-founder and editorial director of the online music magazine Ma3azef, Abu Taleb is a novelist, playwright, and essayist whose work explores intersections between language, identity, and sound.
- May Makki: A curator and writer who has worked with MoMA’s Department of Media and Performance, Makki has a strong focus on live and time-based art. Her projects often explore the intersection of mass media and memory about Arab identity.
- Kabelo Malatsie: As the former Director of Kunsthalle Bern, Malatsie is known for bringing together incongruous practices in her curatorial work, fostering new ways of making and interpreting the world.
- Lantian Xie: An artist and curator whose projects span exhibitions, performances, and collaborative gatherings, Xie has contributed to major international biennials and works at the intersection of art, community, and everyday life.
- Sammy Zarka: Architect and exhibition designer based in Milan, Zarka’s practice investigates how spatial design can reflect personal and collective histories, with a particular focus on contexts shaped by displacement.
Together, this team brings a cross-disciplinary lens to the Biennale, promising an edition that moves between the visual, the performative, and the architectural, while remaining grounded in critical theory and cultural histories.
Biennale as a site of dialogue
At the heart of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale is a commitment to creating spaces where local and international perspectives intersect. By situating contemporary practice within Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape, the Biennale not only reflects but also participates in the nation’s transformation.
The JAX District itself becomes a laboratory for exchange—its industrial warehouses reimagined into spaces that blur boundaries between exhibition, performance, and community gathering. This expanded vision positions the Biennale as both an international art event and a catalyst for ongoing cultural growth within Diriyah and Riyadh.
About the Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Chaired by H.H. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation is dedicated to nurturing creative expression and advancing appreciation for culture and the arts in Saudi Arabia. Its work includes staging two recurring world-class biennales—of contemporary and Islamic arts—alongside year-round educational programs and the activation of JAX as a creative district.
By fostering dialogue between the Saudi and international communities, the Foundation seeks to establish the Kingdom as a vital cultural centre. At a moment of rapid national evolution, the Biennale demonstrates how art can both reflect and shape the social and cultural fabric of Saudi Arabia.
The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 is opening on January 30, 2026, in the JAX District, Diriyah (near Riyadh). For more information, please visit the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
