Riyadh is gearing up for a serious art moment. The inaugural Art Week Riyadh is set to take over the city from April 6 to 13, 2025, bringing together an eclectic mix of local, regional, and international artists, curators, and collectors. The event, helmed by Saudi Arabia’s Visual Arts Commission, is a statement that Riyadh is no longer just a growing cultural hub, but a global player.
At the helm of this ambitious first edition is an all-star curatorial team: Vittoria Matarrese, Artistic Director and Curator; Basma Harasani and Victoria Gandit Lelandais as Associate Curators; and Shumon Basar leading the public program. Between them, you’ve got expertise spanning Paris’s Palais de Tokyo, Switzerland’s Bally Foundation, and deep-rooted knowledge of the Gulf’s creative scene. In short, they know what they’re doing.
This year’s theme, “At The Edge,” is as poetic as it is fitting. Riyadh is at the edge of transformation, straddling heritage and hyper-modernity, tradition and acceleration. The exhibition will reflect that duality, with a lineup of works from over 30 galleries and institutions. Expect a mix of established and emerging names, immersive installations, performances, and a public program designed to stir up the kind of cultural discourse that pushes boundaries.
For those who’ve been paying attention, this isn’t coming out of nowhere. The past few years have seen Saudi Arabia ramp up its cultural investments with events like the Diriyah Biennale and Noor Riyadh. What makes Art Week Riyadh different is its city-wide takeover. The JAX District will serve as its headquarters, but activations will spill out across Riyadh, making the entire city a canvas.
Matarrese calls it an “extraordinary opportunity to engage with a city and region undergoing profound cultural transformation.” And she’s not wrong. If you think about how much the Saudi art scene has evolved in just the past decade, it’s hard to deny that something big is happening. Harasani puts it plainly: “Being the first of its kind, Art Week Riyadh is a testament to the remarkable progress the country has made in establishing itself within the global cultural narrative.”
There’s a clear push to foster a thriving, self-sustaining art ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, one that brings together galleries, artists, collectors, and institutions in a way that doesn’t feel like a temporary spectacle but a long-term investment. Lelandais highlights this, saying, “The very fact that Art Week Riyadh exists demonstrates the intentional development of a thriving art ecosystem.”
For the artists, this means more opportunities to showcase their work on an international stage without losing their regional identity. For collectors, it’s an emerging market with untapped potential. And for anyone even remotely interested in contemporary art, it’s an invitation to witness history being made in real-time.
So, whether you’re an art world insider or just someone who appreciates a well-curated scene, Art Week Riyadh is shaping up to be a moment you don’t want to miss.
