From the Sharjah Art Foundation to the Diriyah and AlUla projects, and from the Islamic Arts Biennale to Art Basel Qatar, which will hold its first edition, this dossier takes a close look at the rapidly evolving art ecosystem of the Gulf.
Sharjah Art Foundation
United Arab Emirates / Sharjah
Considered the most intellectual institution in the Gulf, the Sharjah Art Foundation traces its origins to the Sharjah Biennial, which began in 1993. The institution is also the strongest intellectual art platform in the Gulf region, placing critical thinking, post-colonial readings, and unseen narratives at its core. Institutionalized in 2009, the Sharjah Art Foundation approaches art not as a market field, but as a public space shaped around memory, identity, migration, social justice, and cultural representation.
Sharjah Biennial
United Arab Emirates / Sharjah
Since 1993, the Sharjah Biennial has secured a lasting place on the global biennial map, standing out with its political and critical curatorial approach. The biennial also takes shape around an intellectual center often described as the “Conscience of the Gulf.” With selections extending from the Middle East to Africa, from Southeast Asia to Polynesia, it establishes an alternative line to Western-centered art narratives. Here, art draws attention not as an object of circulation, but as an expression of an ethical and intellectual cultural stance.
Diriyah Biennale Foundation
Saudi Arabia / Riyadh
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation is a state-supported cultural platform that draws on social transformation in Saudi Arabia and the historical heritage of Diriyah, aiming to support creative expression and disseminate the transformative power of culture and art throughout society. Seeking to strengthen the local art scene and increase international cultural exchange, the foundation aims to position Saudi Arabia as a new global cultural hub through its biennials.
Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennial
Saudi Arabia / Riyadh
Set to open its doors with its third edition in January 2026, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennial takes place in Diriyah’s JAX District under the artistic direction of Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed. Titled In Interludes and Transitions, the biennial brings together new productions centered on continuity, resilience, and collective imagination, focusing on lines of migration, movement, and transformation that connect the Arab geography to the world. Held in this creative district adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage site At-Turaif, the biennial invites audiences to rethink a world in which planetary, spiritual, and technological flows intertwine through the metaphor of “processions.”
Islamic Arts Biennale
Saudi Arabia / Jeddah
Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art showcase, the Islamic Arts Biennale, is a state-controlled yet significant cultural initiative. Held for the first time in 2023 at Jeddah’s iconic Hajj Terminal, the biennale transformed this historic gateway to Mecca and Medina into an exhibition space, bringing together the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Islamic world with contemporary interpretations. With a selection spanning more than four centuries, the biennale aims to establish an intellectual continuity between past, present, and future. Bringing together major institutional collections from different countries—most notably the Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait—it creates a global reference and research platform. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the event stands out as one of the international showcases of Saudi Arabia’s new cultural vision.
Royal Commission for AlUla
Saudi Arabia / AlUla
A mega cultural authority, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal decree in 2017 to protect and develop the AlUla region in northwestern Saudi Arabia and transform it into a global culture and tourism hub. While sustainably preserving the region’s natural and historical heritage, the RCU aims to turn AlUla into a major “living museum” and cultural destination by developing cultural, archaeological, and spatial projects that attract visitors from around the world.
AlUla Projects
Saudi Arabia / AlUla
The AlUla Projects are a large-scale transformation program aimed at turning the archaeological AlUla region in northwestern Saudi Arabia into a next-generation cultural destination that brings together contemporary art, archaeology, and tourism. Carried out by the Royal Commission for AlUla, established in 2017, these projects place AlUla at the center of the cultural pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy. With a history of approximately 7,000 years and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hegra, the region aims—through a “living museum” approach—to offer a model in which culture converges with image-making and the economy.
Art Basel Qatar
This year, the Gulf is experiencing the excitement of opening its doors to a new art fair. Art Basel Qatar, which will be held with its first edition from February 5–7, 2026, adds a new focal point to the region’s international art calendar. Curated by Wael Shawky, the fair will feature Pilot as the only gallery participating from Turkey. The gallery will take part in the first edition with a solo presentation of works by Halil Altındere.
Shaped around themes of migration, displacement, urban transformation, identity, and socio-political issues, Altındere’s practice positions itself not only within art circles but also as a field of expression that engages with public space and everyday life.
With its open exhibition format, Art Basel Qatar aims to establish a new center within the rapidly transforming cultural scene of the Gulf. The fair, to be held for the first time in 2026, seeks to make Qatar’s vibrant cultural landscape visible on an international scale by bringing together distinguished galleries from around the world and offering a new focal point for the global art world.
