At the Venice Biennale, a large black feathered beast crosses the Arsenale, the world’s largest art festival, where each country showcases the best of their art scenes.
Saudi Arabia has chosen the artwork “The Teaching Tree,” which is a petrol-colored creature. It’s made up of 260 square metres of black-dyed woven dried palm leaves that undulate thanks to a pneumatic pump, giving the illusion of breathing.
It was intended as a visual metaphor for the country’s socio-political and cultural development by Saudi artist Muhannad Shono, one of the most active members of the rising Saudi art scene.
Many people expect that, with the new Vision 2030 social reform plan, the constraints on artists’ expression will be lifted, and that artists and curators will finally be able to discuss topics like Islam, Saudi society, and the monarchy.
So far, the state has nearly entirely sponsored the art scene’s growth, which is directly tied to the government’s expected $64 billion investment in cultural infrastructure over the next decade, in conjunction with the private sector. The Ministry of Culture, which was established in 2018, will develop 11 specialised agencies that will cover music, museums, and performing arts.
Despite the pandemic, the visual arts sector has seen an unprecedented amount of programming in the last few years: the Diriyah Biennale, the important opening of the art centre Hayy Jameel, the Tuwaiq sculpture commissions for public art in Riyadh; Misk Art Week’s exhibitions and discursive programmes; the Bienal Del Sur’s Jeddah edition; the Red Sea International Film Festival; various pop-up events, an art fair, Shara Art.
The new art scene is centred in Saudi Arabia’s major cities of Jeddah and Riyadh. “Riyadh is being positioned as the future,” writes writer Rahel Aima in ArtForum. “Jeddah may soon be relegated to the realm of tradition.” “For example, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale is held in Riyadh, while its Islamic art editions will be held in Jeddah on alternating years.”
The art scene in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, appears to be much more structured. Vision 2030 aims to make the capital a dynamic, multicultural metropolis by creating one of the world’s largest public art programmes.
More than 1,000 public art pieces are part of “Riyadh Art,” which is supported by two major annual festivals and brings art to residential neighbourhoods, parks, metro and bus stations, bridges, pedestrian walkways, city entrances, and key tourist locations. The “Riyadh Art Hub” is one of the efforts, and it comprises of an immersive creative area. The centre, which is located on Riyadh Front, hosts daily events, workshops twice a month, and a monthly debate.