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Diriyah Biennale Foundation cultural initiatives

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2026-09-17 14:25 UTC → 2026-09-22 11:29 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has initiated several cultural programming developments in Saudi Arabia. In September 2026, the foundation launched a monthly agenda at the JAX District featuring workshops, film screenings, and summits, such as the Creativity Summit and the XP music conference. Following these local programming efforts, the foundation announced the curatorial team for the third Islamic Arts Biennale, which is scheduled to take place from November 1, 2027, to March 1, 2028, at the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah. The upcoming Biennale will feature curators Nada Raza, William Robinson, Alain Fouad George, and Idries Trevathan, aiming to explore Islamic art through both historical and contemporary lenses. The event will be hosted at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, a site recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The program intends to place historical treasures in dialogue with contemporary commissions and will include the AlMadar collaborative platform and the return of the AlMusalla Prize, which focuses on architectural visions for future prayer spaces. The exhibition seeks to challenge traditional institutional definitions of Islamic art by integrating material culture with lived experience, faith, and architecture. As the world’s first biennale dedicated exclusively to Islamic art and culture, the 2027 edition aims to bridge historical artifacts with contemporary art. Curators will develop distinct exhibitions exploring themes of mobility, cultural interaction, and the arts of Islamic societies, emphasizing both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Furthermore, the foundation plans to expand the ‘AlMadar’ international platform to foster institutional collaborations and create a digitized archive involving museums and cultural organizations from Saudi Arabia and abroad.

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