Saudi Creative Stars Shine Bright at Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
The Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale has become a luminous showcase for Saudi Arabia’s thriving creative spirit. Beyond the global names, the exhibition spotlights a powerful generation of homegrown artists who are weaving deep cultural inquiry with stunning contemporary forms. Their works are not just pieces to view, but experiences that pull you into layered conversations about environment, history, and identity.
Listening to the Sea: Aseel Al-Harthi
Born in Asir, interdisciplinary artist Aseel Al-Harthi turns to the waters of the Red Sea. In her performance and poetry piece, “On the Red Sea,” she uses “sea sawdust”—a marine bacteria that blooms in reddish-brown slicks—as a lens. This natural phenomenon, believed to be the origin of the sea’s name, becomes a point of departure. Al-Harthi deconstructs the relationship between human and non-human, reading the waves as a site of knowledge that ties together the biological, the mythical, and the linguistic.
Running Through Narratives: Ahaad Alamoudi
Jeddah-born multidisciplinary artist Ahaad Alamoudi presents a compelling video work, “The Run,” filmed in NEOM. It depicts a solitary runner moving past printed banners showing static images of the very land she traverses. The land remains silent and immutable; the only sound is the rhythm of her footsteps. This stark, persistent motion amplifies a sense of both futility and determination, inviting us to question the narratives embedded in rapidly changing landscapes and the symbols that shape our collective imagination.
Games of Memory: Leen Aljan
Architectural designer Leen Aljan, also from Jeddah, reimagines cultural memory through play. Her installation, “Takki,” is a giant, inhabitable game board built from reclaimed wood from the historic Hejaz Railway tracks. The piece, which echoes the design of traditional Hejazi courtyards, features benches and tables holding folk games that are no longer commonly played. It’s a tactile, spatial investigation into how we interact with our heritage and keep communal memories alive.
The Power of the Past: Mohammad Al-Ghamdi
In the gallery “A Hall of Chants,” the mixed-media works of Mohammad Al-Ghamdi feel both contemporary and archaeological. His pieces are composed of reclaimed fragments—a cable spool, decorative motifs, drawings on wood—that carry traces of social life. “My work is not a nostalgic attempt to relive the past,” Al-Ghamdi says, “but is rather an endorsement of the power of the past to create the future.” His art urges viewers to see the enduring possibilities in what is often overlooked or discarded.
Marking Territory: Ramy Alqthami
Jeddah-based artist Ramy Alqthami delves into personal and tribal history with his work “Al Bitra.” He has reconfigured a numbered concrete post—a traditional marker of land ownership from his family’s region in Taif—into both a sculpture and a series of photographs. By shifting this object from a local instrument of governance into a visual symbol, he explores themes of power, ancestral knowledge, and legal boundaries, leaving the interpretation open and resonant.
Together, these artists represent the vibrant pulse of Saudi creativity. They are researchers of the environment, archaeologists of memory, and choreographers of new narratives, proving that the most compelling contemporary art is often that which is rooted deeply in its own soil, sea, and stories.
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