RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced the title, curatorial theme, and preliminary artist list for the upcoming Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026, set to open to the public on January 30, 2026, in the historic town of Diriyah, northwest of Riyadh.
The third edition of the Biennale, titled In Interludes and Transitions (في الحِلّ والترحال), will bring together works by more than 70 artists from around the world, including over 20 new commissions. Led by Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, the Biennale will be staged across JAX, Diriyah’s creative district, as well as other venues and outdoor spaces, with scenography by the acclaimed design studio Formafantasma.
Drawing inspiration from a colloquial Arabic phrase that evokes the cycles of encampment and journey among nomadic communities, the Biennale takes as its starting point the movements, migrations, and transformations that continue to shape the Gulf’s connection to the wider world.
Through sound-based works, visual art, music, and performance, the 2026 edition will explore how stories, languages, and cultural forms travel and transform. The Biennale’s curators describe it as a “choreography” where histories, ancestors, dreams, and premonitions converge in motion—expressed through song, storytelling, and dance.
“The movement of winds and the flow of trade, migration, and exile are carriers of stories, songs, and languages,” said Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed. “Thinking of the world in procession allows an understanding of cultural forms through exchange and transmission—retelling fragments of exiled stories that persist through bodies, materials, and rhythms.”
The preliminary artist list includes a diverse selection of contemporary voices such as Pio Abad, Rand Abdul Jabbar, Ahaad Alamoudi, Afra Al Dhaheri, Ruba Al-Sweel, Taysir Batniji, Raven Chacon, Rohini Devasher, Rahima Gambo, Petrit Halilaj, Yazan Khalili, Thảo Nguyên Phan, Gala Porras-Kim, Raqs Media Collective, Agustina Woodgate, and Yu Ji, among many others.
Their works will span media including film, installation, architecture, sound, and performance—reflecting the Biennale’s mission to present a holistic and inclusive view of contemporary art across disciplines and geographies.
Founded as a capital of culture in the Kingdom, Diriyah has become a key site for artistic dialogue and exchange. Its JAX District, once an industrial area, has evolved into a thriving hub for contemporary art and creativity.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, described the upcoming edition as a continuation of the foundation’s efforts to build connections both locally and globally.
“It gives me great pleasure to see the third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale take shape,” she said. “Over the past five years, we have been engaging with audiences in Saudi Arabia and beyond from our home in JAX. This edition highlights cultural transmission and the movement of ideas and traditions—core to our mission of fostering dialogue and artistic growth.”
With its ambitious curatorial vision and expansive scope, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 aims to serve as both a platform for cross-cultural exchange and a reflection on the transformative power of art in times of global change.
As Diriyah continues to assert its place on the world’s cultural map, this Biennale promises to offer audiences an immersive journey—one that celebrates movement, memory, and the enduring human capacity to create connections across borders.
