Dana Awartani will represent Saudi Arabia at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, taking place from May 9 to November 22, 2026.
Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel, will curate the exhibition. Carver and assistant curator Hafsa Alkhudairi will work with the artist for the Biennale Arte 2026, held under the theme of “In Minor Keys,” curated by Koyo Kouoh, whose vision for the project will be realized following her passing in May 2025.
Drawing on Islamic and Arab art-making traditions, Awartani combines innovation and experimentation with tradition and continuity, in terms of both material and concept. She often collaborates with master craftspeople and artisans who, whether in place or displaced, carry deep knowledge integral to humanity, across generations and geographies.
Dana Awartani said: “I am deeply honored to be representing Saudi Arabia and its diverse cultural voices and communities at the Biennale Arte 2026, and I thank the Visual Arts Commission and the Ministry of Culture for this cherished opportunity. My practice is rooted in foregrounding Middle Eastern cultural histories through the revival of craft practices and the preservation of the region’s globally-important material heritage; working with my curatorial colleagues, I am thrilled to have the chance to develop a major new work for the Saudi Pavilion, in line with this theme and endeavor, and to be part of ‘In Minor Keys’.”
Antonia Carver said: “I am delighted to collaborate with Dana and to be working together as a team to highlight her deeply considered and timely work to a global audience. Dana’s practice explores cultural heritage and the inherent forces of preservation, recognition, and destruction within – a subject that has perhaps never been more crucial than now. I thank the Visual Arts Commission for inviting us to work together to present Dana’s vision, bringing together collaborative crafts practices and artisanal histories with highly innovative, imaginative contemporary art, on this most compelling of international platforms – this year conceptualized by the visionary Koyo Kouoh.”
Main Image: Dana Awartani, Antonia Carver, and Hafsa Alkhudairi, 2025. Courtesy of the Visual Arts Commission.