The upcoming Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale – the first art event of its kind to be held in Saudi Arabia – announced participating artists for the exhibition called Feeling the Stones, according to a report in The Art Newspaper.
The event is scheduled to take place starting December 11 and running for three months, concluding March 11, 2022.
Aya Al-Bakree, the chief executive of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
According to The Art Newspaper, Manal Al Dowayan of Saudi Arabia, Xu Bing of China and John Gerrard of Ireland are among the artists taking part. Saudi artists including Zahrah Alghamdi, Muhannad Shono, Ayman Zedani, Lulwah Al-Homoud and Dana Awartani will present works alongside international artists such as Simon Denny, Lawrence Lek and Monira Al-Qadiri. More artists will be announced in advance of the event.
The event will be held in the Jax district of Diriyah, located on the outskirts of Riyadh, situated on a 20,000 square meters area. According to the organizers’ website, the exhibition “will unfold in six sections examining themes that include memory and preservation; cultural transmission; social engagement; the Anthropocene (the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet) and the spiritual. It aims to create new connections between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the international art worlds, bringing new trends in global contemporary art to Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning cultural scene with nearly 70 artists exhibiting.”
The event was initiated by the Saudi Ministry of Culture and is organized by the newly formed Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
Philip Tinari, director and chief executive of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing and curator of the Biennale, said: “We hope that this exhibition will expose new generations of viewers to global contemporary art, not just as a mode of visual expression but as a space for critical thinking. The art scene in Saudi Arabia finds itself at a crucial juncture, and art has an important role to play in reflecting on key issues of the moment.”
Aya Al-Bakree is the chief executive of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Al-Bakree is a contemporary culture specialist with almost 10 years’ experience in the arts sector in Europe and Saudi Arabia.
