The third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, titled“في الحِلّ والترحال”/ In Interludes and Transitions, opened to the public on January 30, 2026. It runs through May 2. Organised by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale takes place at JAX, a creative district in Diriyah, close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of the First Saudi State, At-Turaif.
Led by Artistic Directors Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, In Interludes and Transitions is conceived as a choreography in which histories, ancestors, dreams, and premonitions move together through song, stories, dance, and whirlwinds. It unfolds through various movements inspired by the motions, migrations, and transformations that have long connected the Arab region with the world. The 2026 edition features the work of 65 artists representing more than 37 nations, and includes more than 22 new commissions.
The exhibition scenography, created by design studio Formafantasma, reimagines the JAX creative district’s industrial architecture as a weightless arrangement of colour and form. The design guides visitors through a flowing composition of shifting planes and curved passages in a continuous, immersive movement across 12,900 square meters of exhibition halls, courtyards, and terraces.
The 2026 edition of the Biennale foregrounds musicality as a way of probing the essential role oral and aural modes of knowledge transfer have played in transmitting social histories in the Arab region and beyond. This is exemplified through a specially commissioned procession by Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan), titled In Folding the Tents (2026). In the piece, the multidisciplinary artist explores the notion of the procession, its transformation, and the inventiveness of an ancient practice in the age of electric, electronic, and digital culture, weaving pertinent connections between gestures of the past and practices of today.
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome audiences from near and far to the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026. The 2026 edition marks the foundation’s fifth biennale since its inception five years ago, and documents a remarkable breadth of artistic practices from across regions and disciplines, and it speaks to an exciting moment in artistic activity around the world, with more centers of work and thinking gaining greater visibility. We are grateful for the continued opportunity to platform artists, drive cultural exchange, and invest in our community. That this exhibition is taking place at JAX, our home in Diriyah, demonstrates our role as a convener and incubator of creativity in Saudi Arabia and far beyond.”
Press release from Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Image: JAX District, the site of the 2026 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. Image courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation
