Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed to Curate Third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
145March 7, 2025
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announcedNora RazianandSabih Ahmedas the artistic directors of the ThirdDiriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, succeeding Philip Tinari, who led the inaugural iteration in 2022, and Ute Meta Bauer, who helmed the 2024 edition. The event’s third iteration is set to run from January to April 2026 at the JAX District, an industrial site turned arts complex in the historic town of Diriyah, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Razian is deputy director and head of exhibitions and programs at Art Jameel in Dubai and Jeddah. She previously held roles at the Sursock Museum in Beirut and at Tate Modern and Tate Britain in London. Ahmed from 2020 to 2025 served as director of the Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai; he is currently the organization’s projects advisor. Both Razian and Ahmed are experienced in the curation of large-scale exhibitions, with past efforts centering around climate change and contested histories.
“For the third edition of the Biennale, we envision inviting practices committed to vibrant imaginations of world-making born through conditions of vulnerability and resilience,” said the curators in a joint statement. “Reflecting on the first quarter of the twenty-first century, our curatorial ambition is to explore how locally rooted histories and knowledges have transmitted and transformed through time. The Biennale will serve as a platform for a multitude of artistic interventions, archives, and participatory models that offer dynamic ways to imagine and enact a world otherwise.”
“We are thrilled to announce Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed as the artistic directors of the third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale,” said Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, in a statement. “Their combined expertise in developing ambitious exhibitions and building cross-cultural dialogue between Eastern and Western Asia, along with their deep understanding of regional and international art scenes, will be instrumental in furthering our mission to position Saudi Arabia as a global center for contemporary art.”