5 days ago
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REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, RIYADH -- The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 officially opened to the public on January 30, 2026, at the JAX District in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and will run through May 2, 2026. Marking its third edition, the biennale continues to position Diriyah as a significant hub for contemporary art in the region and beyond.
Titled “في الحِلّ والترحال” / "In Interludes and Transitions", the biennale is led by Co-Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the exhibition unfolds across JAX, Diriyah’s creative district, located near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif.
The 2026 edition brings together the work of 68 artists representing more than 37 nations and features over 25 newly commissioned works. Conceived as a choreography of histories, migrations, and ancestral narratives, the biennale explores movement and transformation through diverse artistic practices spanning visual art, music, performance, film, and architecture.
Exhibition scenography by the design studio Formafantasma reimagines JAX District’s industrial architecture into a fluid and immersive environment. Across 12,900 square meters of exhibition halls, courtyards, and terraces, visitors are guided through shifting planes and curved passages that echo the biennale’s conceptual focus on flow and transition.
Musicality plays a central role in this edition, highlighting oral and aural traditions as vital modes of transmitting social histories in the Arab region and beyond. This is exemplified by Folding the Tents (2026), a specially commissioned procession by Saudi artist Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan), which moves through Wadi Hanifah and the JAX District before culminating in a performance by the Miniawy Trio.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, said the 2026 edition marks the foundation’s fifth biennale in five years and reflects a growing diversity of artistic practices worldwide.
Co-Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed added that In Interludes and Transitions invites audiences to experience the biennale as a shared journey through a world shaped by movement, overlapping routes, and evolving relations.
