The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced the expanded team as well as the opening date for the upcoming Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.
The third edition of the Biennale, which will be steered by artistic directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed will debut 30 January 2026.
A group of international curators will join Razian and Ahmed in bringing to life the vision for the 2026 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. The team’s expertise spans disciplines such as music, architecture, performance and critical theory, as well as contemporary art. The curators have been announced as Maan Abu Taleb, founding editor of Ma3azef, a leading music magazine in the Arab world, Lantian Xie, a Dubai-based artist and editor whose work explores image-making, objects, stories and situations, May Makki, a New York-based curator specialising in contemporary art and performance and Kabelo Malatsie, a Cape Town-based independent curator and former director of the Kunsthalle Bern.
Sammy Zarka, an architect based in Milan, will collaborate with the team as Associate Architect and Exhibition Designer. Together, the team demonstrates the Biennale’s role in expanding the dialogue surrounding contemporary art across borders and perspectives.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, said: “This curatorial team brings together a wide range of voices shaped by different disciplines, ranging from music and performance to literature and architecture. Their experience demonstrates the evolving role of contemporary art as a space of exchange, and I hope to see that this will open new pathways for artists and audiences in Saudi Arabia.”
