Art Week Riyadh to celebrate Saudi Arabia’s dynamic cultural scene 

• Curatorial team includes local, regional and international contemporary art specialists

• Vittoria Matarrese: Art Week Riyadh represents an extraordinary opportunity to engage with a city and region undergoing profound cultural transformation

Updated 57 sec ago

Arab News

March 03, 2026 18:55

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RIYADH: The Visual Arts Commission has announced the curatorial team for the inaugural Art Week Riyadh, scheduled to take place from April 6 to 13 under the theme “At the Edge.” 

The team features artistic director and curator Vittoria Matarrese, associate curators Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit Lelandais, and public program curator Shumon Basar. 

Matarrese, the former director of the Bally Foundation in Switzerland and the performing arts department at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, praised the initiative.

“Art Week Riyadh represents an extraordinary opportunity to engage with a city and region undergoing profound cultural transformation. It is a platform to explore these shifts and reveal how tradition and acceleration coexist and evolve.”

Harasani said the project “is a testament to the remarkable progress the country has made in establishing itself within the global cultural narrative, while still preserving its authenticity and showcasing the very best the Kingdom has to offer.” 

Art Week Riyadh will take place at Jax district, featuring activities across the city. And a curated selection of artworks from more than 30 local, regional and international galleries and collections.

Additionally, it will have panel discussions, interactive sessions, and special events designed to showcase Riyadh’s cultural vitality, its evolving artistic landscape, and growing influence on the global stage.

Gandit Lelandais, a specialist in contemporary art from the Arab world, said the “fact that Art Week Riyadh exists demonstrates the intentional development of a thriving art ecosystem.”

There was “a clear vision to foster a healthy environment for growth among all the key players — galleries, artists, institutions, scholars, collectors, and more.

“This initiative is invaluable, offering a city-wide platform for critical discussions, dialogue, and reflection under one roof.” 

Basar said: “Art Week Riyadh offers a moment to frame everything that has happened in the arts in Riyadh, in the Kingdom, and in the region over the last years and decades. 

“And to dialogue that with global-scale conversations in an increasingly multipolar world.” 

The curators have broadened the concept of the theme “At the Edge” to create a program uniting leading cultural institutions, renowned artists, art patrons and enthusiasts, top galleries, and prestigious art collections.