Jeddah: The Diriyah Biennale Foundation announced the date of the third edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, scheduled to open between November 2027 and March 2028, at the Aga Khan Award-winning Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Jeddah is considered a site of strong symbolic significance for hosting this global cultural event, given its essential place for millions of pilgrims. For centuries, it has served as a vibrant crossroads for peoples and cultures from around the world and a gateway for pilgrims on their journeys to Makkah and Madinah.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the Islamic Arts Biennale, organized by the foundation, is the first of its kind in the world dedicated to exploring the arts of Islamic civilization, past and present. The Biennale is distinguished by a unique methodology that brings together treasures of Islamic civilization from global collections-some of which have never been displayed before-and presents them alongside contemporary works commissioned by the foundation.
Through this model, the Diriyah Biennale has succeeded in establishing a new global platform to highlight questions and perspectives that intersect with the lives of communities today and contribute to preserving, interpreting, and making living Islamic heritage accessible to a wide audience. Previous editions of the Biennale achieved exceptional success, supported by a number of strategic partnerships with Saudi cultural institutions, including the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, the King Abdulaziz Waqf Libraries Assembly, and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra). These partnerships contributed to presenting artifacts and artworks to the public for the first time, most notably the display of the Holy Kaaba's Kiswah in its entirety during the second edition in 2025.
The Biennale also serves as a platform for launching promising initiatives, most notably AlMusalla Prize, the international architectural competition launched by the foundation in 2024, which aims to develop innovative approaches to the design of places of worship by reimagining their future as temporary, mobile, easily dismantled and reassembled spaces, capable of pushing the boundaries of sustainable design and technologies.
The third edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale and future editions of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale are scheduled to be held at the end of each year, enabling the foundation to focus on deepening institutional partnerships and aligning the biennales with the Kingdom's broader cultural calendar. The upcoming edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale will build on the success of the first and second editions, which resulted in the display of more than 500 artifacts from over 40 institutions representing more than 20 countries, with the second edition tripling the number of participating institutions compared to the first.
Central to this expansion is AlMadar ('The Orbit'), a pioneering initiative conceived by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation to transform the Biennale from a periodic exhibition into a sustainable global platform for Islamic arts, embodying the Kingdom's commitment to cultural collaboration internationally and across disciplines. Launched with the first edition of the Biennale, AlMadar reflects an understanding of Islamic heritage as a living and evolving field, reimagining how treasures of Islamic civilization from across eras and geographies are convened, studied, and presented for public engagement.
New plans include transforming AlMadar into a year-round active initiative based on four main pillars: AlMadar Exhibition, presented at each edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale and accompanied by public cultural programs; AlMadar Digital Platform, which employs the latest technologies in research, cultural exchange, and the development of narratives related to Islamic arts and culture; AlMadar Initiatives, dedicated to organizing symposia, dialogue sessions, and workshops that support research and the development of creative practice; and AlMadar Community, a specialized network bringing together leading international institutions to enhance knowledge exchange and explore opportunities for joint collaboration.
Assistant Minister of Culture and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation Rakan Altouq stated that the study of arts represents an entry point to understanding history and the transformations it has undergone over time, noting that Islamic arts possess traditions and innovations extending across vast geographies and offering limitless opportunities to narrate historical accounts and build new knowledge connections through artistic research. He added that the Biennale constitutes an open space for renewing, reformulating, and reflecting on these narratives and their concepts comprehensively and flexibly that reflects the nature of arts in Islamic societies.
For her part, Diriyah Biennale Foundation CEO Aya Al-Bakree said, 'I am delighted to see the features of the next edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale taking shape from now, as we present under the canopy of the Western Hajj Terminal a new model for institutional collaboration and for writing the history of Islamic art, following a flexible approach that expands with each new edition.' She added that the foundation is always working to develop new connections, open spaces for dialogue, and enable comprehensive cultural and artistic encounters that span all eras and transcend geographical boundaries.
An international artistic curatorial team has been selected to lead the Islamic Arts Biennale 2027 following a rigorous process that began with an open call for proposals launched by the foundation, followed by evaluation and final selection stages by a specialized committee. The team will include Professor Azra Ak€š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¦¡¬‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬¦¡¬¦¡¬¦¡amija, Nada Raza, and William Robinson as lead curator, bringing together expertise in contemporary artistic practice, historical research, and institutional leadership, thereby strengthening the foundation's leading role in preserving, studying, and presenting Islamic cultural heritage at the international level.