The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced the artists participating in the third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, opening on January 30, in the JAX District, an industrial zone that has been converted into an arts complex in Diriyah, near the capital city of Riyadh.
Taking the title “In Interludes and Transitions,” this edition of the Biennale will be curated by Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed and feature more than 65 artists, alongside over 20 new commissions.
Razian, deputy director and head of exhibitions and programs at Art Jameel, and Ahmed, projects director of the Ishara Art Foundation, have positioned the exhibition around the movement of histories, knowledge, and artistic practices across time and place.
The artist list brings together historic figures, established mid-career artists, and emerging voices working across painting, installation, film, sound, architecture, and publishing. They include Pacita Abad, Etel Adnan, Samia Halaby, Raven Chacon, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Petrit Halilaj, Daniel Lind-Ramos, Guadalupe Maravilla, Nour Mobarak, Gala Porras-Kim, and Raqs Media Collective.
The announcement comes amid a surge of cultural and market activity across the Middle East, where global art institutions are ramping up their presence. Art Basel will stage its first Middle East fair in Doha in February 2026, while Frieze has confirmed plans to launch Frieze Abu Dhabi in November 2026 by rebranding the long-running Abu Dhabi Art fair. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, is slated to open in 2026 following years of delays. Auction houses have also moved decisively into the region: Sotheby’s held its first international auction in Saudi Arabia in Diriyah in February 2025, and Christie’s continues to operate a long-standing saleroom in Dubai while building out its presence in Saudi Arabia.
The full list of participating artists follows below.
Pacita Abad
Pio Abad
Rand Abdul Jabbar
Abdullah Miniawy Trio
Etel Adnan
Yussef Agbo-Ola (Olaniyi Studio)
Leen Ajlan
Ahaad Alamoudi
Elyas Alavi
Afra Al Dhaheri
Shadia Alem
Mohammad Al-Ghamdi
Mohammed Alhamdan (7amdan)
Nouf Al-Harthi
Ramy Alqthami
Abdullah Al Saadi
Ruba Al-Sweel
Lulua Alyahya
Ismaïl Bahri
Taysir Batniji
Dineo Seshee Bopape (Raisibe)
Raven Chacon
Ayman Yousry Daydban
Nolan Oswald Dennis
Rohini Devasher
Merve Ertufan
Ivana Franke
Rahima Gambo
Eric Gyamfi
Samia Halaby
Petrit Halilaj
Hazem Harb
Aziz Hazara
Ho Rui An
Alana Hunt
Kamala Ibrahim Ishag
Amaka Jaji
Kayfa ta
Yazan Khalili
Moshekwa Langa
Daniel Lind-Ramos
George Mahashe
Guadalupe Maravilla
Yu Ji
Théo Mercier
Nour Mobarak
Mochu
Nancy Mounir
Hussein Nassereddine
Daniel Otero Torres
Thao Nguyen Phan
Gala Porras-Kim
Sarker Protick
Abdelkarim Qassem
Raqs Media Collective
K.P. Reji
Faisal Samra
Oscar Santillán
Amina Saoudi Aït Khay
Bogosi Sekhukhuni
Karan Shrestha
Elias Sime
Trương Công Tùng
Rajesh Chaitya Vangad
Wolff Architects
Agustina Woodgate
Müge Yılmaz
