The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced the lead curators for the third Islamic Arts Biennale, set to run from 1 November 2027 to 1 March 2028.
The upcoming edition, which will take place at the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah will be led by a team of international experts who work across the fields of Islamic arts, contemporary art, architecture as well as transcultural histories. These include Nada Raza, the director of the Alserkal Arts Foundation, William Robinson, an expert on Islamic Art and former head of the Islamic Art department at Christie’s, Alain Fouad George and I. M. Pei professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Oxford and director of the Lusail Institute in Doha and Idries Trevathan, previously a chief curator at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran.
The CEO of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Aya Al-Bakree, shared: “The curatorial team’s breadth of experience is a wonderful demonstration of the richness, diversity, historical depth, and contemporary relevance of the Islamic arts. It gives me great pleasure to see this edition of the Biennale taking shape under their sensitive and sophisticated stewardship. I can’t wait for members of the public from near and far to experience this exhibition.”
Each curator will introduce a separate exhibition, with an aim to showcase the breadth of Islamic art, examining both its historic significance and contemporary forms. A number of artworks commissioned by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation by contemporary art practitioners will be unveiled at the Biennale. The winning design from the second edition of the AlMusalla Prize, which envisions what spaces of worship might look like in the future, will also be on view to the public in the outdoor space of the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport.
As the first biennale solely dedicated to exhibiting Islamic art in its many forms, the Islamic Arts Biennale will continue to expand deepen its engagement with the public and institutions through AlMadar (“the Orbit”). As a collaborative platform bringing together international and Saudi institutions, museums and people engaging with Islamic art and culture, it will feature a new digitised archival platform at the biennale, while also debuting further programming throughout Saudi Arabia and at partner institutions across the world.
H.E. Rakan Altouq, Vice Chairman of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation’s Board of Trustees, noted: “The Islamic Arts Biennale rests on a simple conviction: that the arts of Islamic civilisation are not a closed chapter to be admired from a distance, but a living field—still evolving, still creating meaning. In Nada Raza, William Robinson, Alain Fouad George, and Idries Trevathan, we have four curators whose scholarship spans auction houses, universities, museums and art institutions, as well as the Islamic Arts Biennale itself. The breadth and diversity of their experience will deliver a unique and memorable third edition that continues to celebrate and advance the depth and diversity of Islamic culture—and through AlMadar, carry that conversation to institutions across the world.”
