In Interludes and Transitions

This is the second of four itineraries written by Dubai based About Art Guest Contributor Rebecca Anne Proctor for each issue in February.

A procession of four-wheel drive vehicles accompanied by camels roared down a street in the dry riverbed of Wadi Hanifeh in the historic district of Diriyah, Riyadh marking the opening of the third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. Titled Folding the Tents by Saudi artist Mohammed Alhamdan, known as 7amdan, the performance combined homage for ancient Bedouin camel caravan chants known as rajaz withSaudi contemporary culture and concluded a courtyard outside the Diriyah Biennale Foundation with a rap and DJ performance by musical group Miniawy Trio. The third edition of the Diriyah Biennale Contemporary Art Biennale, which runs until May 2, unfolds within the various galleries of the foundation. Titled this year In Interludes and Transitions, the works on show reflect a serendipitously devised choreography exploring how ideas of movement, migration, transformation and flow generate continuous cultural production and have long connected the Arab region with the wider world. The biennale is co-curated by Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed and presents the work of 68 artists representing 37 nations and more than 25 new commissions.

Performance features strongly as both an idea and an act in this biennale, with the event’s title inspired by a colloquial Arabic phrase reflecting the journeys and encampments of the region’s nomadic Bedouin communities. Among the many notable works is Very volcanic over this green feather (2021) by Petrit Halilaj which opens the exhibitions and features dozens of suspended drawings the artist produced as 13-year-old in a refugee camp during the Kosovo War. There’s also the Procession (Zaar)(2015) by Sudanese artist female artist Kamala Ibrahim Ishag featuring a green-toned composition of women performing a zaar healing ceremony; Elias Sime’s Lines in Nature (2025), presenting a series of delicate geometric compositions made from assembled electronic waste from Africa; Paris-based artist Taysir Batniji’s Remnants (2024-25) presenting a series of blurry oil on canvas paintings reflecting the images he received from his native Gaza as they were downloading and Daniel Otero Torres’ Echoes of the Earth (2026), a large-scale installation that constructs a playful ode to defenders of the environment around the world while also offering a pause for visitors to interact and exchange.

For more information: biennale.org.sa/en

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