Diriyah Biennale 2026 Returns with Global Curatorial Team

The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced that the third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale will open on January 30th, 2026, in Riyadh’s JAX District, with an expanded curatorial team bringing new international perspectives.

Artistic direction will be jointly led by Nora Razian, Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at Art Jameel, and Sabih Ahmed, curator and Projects Advisor at the Ishara Art Foundation. They will be joined by novelist and Ma3azef co-founder Maan Abu Taleb, curator May Makki, former Kunsthalle Bern director Kabelo Malatsie, Dubai-based multimedia artist Lantian Xie, and Milan-based Sammy Zarka, who will serve as Associate Architect and Exhibition Designer.

The expanded team reflects the Biennale’s vision where disciplines from literature and music to architecture and performance intersect. Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, said the diverse backgrounds of the curators will create “new pathways for artists and audiences in Saudi Arabia.”

The 2026 edition will feature commissioned and existing works by both Saudi and international artists, staged across newly activated industrial heritage spaces in the JAX District.