Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 Explores Movement and Transition

The third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale opened in Riyadh on February 26, 2026, presenting more than 65 artists from over 35 countries in transformed warehouses at the JAX District. Titled In Interludes and Transitions, the biennale explores themes of movement, migration, and the transmission of ideas across cultures.

The Arabic translation of the title, Fil Hil Wal Terhal, is a colloquial expression indicating connection through fluctuating times of change and transition. Curators Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, both UAE-based with deep connections to the region, developed the theme over a year of research and conversation.

'The starting point was to start thinking outward from here, meaning looking at what's happening around us today, but also the histories that have also shaped this region,' Razian explained at a preview roundtable. A key inspiration was the ceremonial act of marching-like processions, which has long been practiced across the Arabian Peninsula. 'We are looking at oral modes of storytelling, poetry, literature. Some of them literally emerged through processions. They were producers of cultural forms.'

The biennale is divided into four sections spread across a connected series of enormous halls. The curators worked with Milan-based design studio Formafantasma on the scenography, deliberately avoiding the white walls and floors typical of most art institutions. 'We didn't want people to feel overwhelmed,' Razian said. 'The spaces are huge when you come in and you don't want to see everything out there at once, but to give both a sense of scale and intimacy at the same time. We wanted color, we wanted conversation.'

The exhibition features a significant presence of pioneering women artists born in the mid-20th century. Palestinian abstract artist Samia Halaby, Lebanese poet and painter Etel Adnan, Filipino artist Pacida Abad, and Sudanese artist Kamala Ibrahim Ishag each have substantial bodies of work on display. Ishag's swirly paintings depict women performing the traditional African zaar ceremony, an element that connects to the biennale's broader interest in ritual and transition.

More than 25 new works were commissioned for the exhibition, giving artists opportunities to revisit previous practices or work at different scales and with different mediums. Saudi artist Shadia Alem, born in 1960, presented a series of 22 detailed drawings she began in 1996 depicting fantastical female spirits associated with the dormant Lar River, believed to be located in what is now Iran.

Saudi-Bahraini artist Faisal Samra created what the curators described as a performance painting, developing a creature-like figure from buckets of paint manipulated by hand movements and airblowers. The resulting work combines action painting traditions with digital-age concerns about creation and destruction.

Kosovo-born artist Petrit Halilaj contributed a major installation reflecting on his youth as a refugee during the Kosovo war in the 1990s. Titled Very volcanic over this green feather, the piece suspends felt-made elements that are replicas of childhood drawings featuring birds, mountains, trees, refugees, and soldiers. The work exudes vibrant colors while addressing how joy and terror can coexist in difficult circumstances.

The curatorial approach prioritized depth over geographic box-checking. 'We've been interested in artists who are asking deep questions for a long time in their practice,' Ahmed said. 'There are two types of questions: Where are you from and where are you headed? We were looking at artworks and where they can be headed, where they can take us.'

The biennale runs through May 2, 2026, at the JAX District in Riyadh. Admission is free, and the program includes artist talks, performances, and educational activities. The Diriyah Biennale Foundation, which organizes the event, has positioned the contemporary art biennale as a key element of Saudi Arabia's cultural transformation agenda alongside the Diriyah Gate development project.

The exhibition arrives at a moment of heightened international attention on Saudi Arabia's arts initiatives, which have expanded rapidly in recent years despite ongoing controversy around the country's human rights record. Art institutions globally are navigating complex decisions about engagement, with some artists and curators accepting invitations while others decline.

For visitors to Riyadh, In Interludes and Transitions offers a substantial survey of contemporary art practice across the Global South and diaspora. The scale of the venue and the ambition of the commissions make it a destination-level exhibition, particularly for those interested in how contemporary artists are addressing themes of movement, displacement, and cultural exchange.