Join us for an odyssey through time and culture as we celebrate the dynamic development of art patronage across the Middle East. Mai Eldib takes us through the evolution of art sponsorship throughout the region by delving into the remarkable trajectories of key patrons and visionaries – uncovering and understanding their bold risks and long-term strategies.

You'll learn how key individual patrons with visions led the way and paved course for the regional art institutions of today.

Founded in 1744, Sotheby's has established itself as a cornerstone of the global art market, celebrated for its expertise in curating and auctioning fine art, rare collectibles, and luxury items.

Beyond auctions, Sotheby's provides comprehensive advisory services, cultural programming and represents a crucial platform for the global art world. The auction house plays a multifaceted role in connecting individuals with art and culture, continually shaping and enriching the landscape of the art market.

A special thank you to artist and art teacher Yasmin Sinai, who worked alongside Sotheby’s to assemble the workshop.

Since joining Sotheby’s in 2008, Mai Eldib has made a significant mark in the art world. Initially working with Jewellery and 19th Century Paintings in New York, she specialized in Orientalist art before relocating to Cairo in 2010. As SVP and regional head of sales and advisory for the Middle East, Mai has extensively promoted Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art. She has been pivotal in achieving record-breaking sales for Egyptian Modernists and recently set new records for Saudi artists like Abduljabar Alyehia and Mohammed Al Saleem.

As Saudi Arabia diversified from oil revenues under the historic Vision 2030 initiative, and as we witness a human species with declining intuitive capacities, the era of the Blue Lotus has dawned. A native species to western Africa and the southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Blue Lotus genetic code offers humanity a rare opportunity to reclaim its lost senses. In this moderated talk Panel between Sara Almutlaq and Rahel Aima, we explore the recent rise of the Blue Lotus from a naturally occurring ecological species, to a bio hacked genetic code that hopes to re-engineer our consciousness. Through the panel we explore the ethics of biogenetics and the strange events that surround it, from Neom, through Alula to the Blue Lotus urban agricultural initiative in Riyadh.

Sara Al Mutlaq, based in Riyadh, blends a background in architecture with critical theory to explore societal themes. With a Master's from Columbia University, she's contributed significantly to Saudi Arabia's cultural scene, developing programs and strategies for the Ministry of Culture and playing a key role in establishing Diriyah Art Futures and Fenaa Alawwal. Her curatorial work includes the upcoming exhibition "Unfolding the Embassy" at Fenaa Alawwal, and her writings and visual art have been featured in various platforms and exhibitions, including Noor Riyadh.

Rahel Aima is a writer and critic from Dubai. She's written for publications like Artforum, Frieze, and Art Review. Holding a BA in Anthropology from Columbia University, she has directed a writing residency, edited the forthcoming BXD, and won the 2018 Andy Warhol Arts Writers grant. Aima's past roles include leading THE STATE, where she showcased projects at significant global events. She is currently focusing on a collection of essays that delve into Khaleeji Ideology and environmentalism in the Arabian Gulf.

We are surrounded by other than human life forms that make up to 99.9% of life on the planet. We ask important questions such as: Do non-human species have consciousness? Do they experience embodiment? How do they communicate and make decisions so that they can survive in any condition?

Join us as we take into consideration the alternative forms of experiencing the world.

Anna Kirikova

Anna Kirikova is an independent curator and cultural projects developer based in Paris. Between 2018 and 2022, she was the Director of the International Programme at The Manege Central Exhibition Hall in St. Petersburg, where she commissioned and organized programming for exhibitions and other cultural events. Her most notable projects at The Manege include ‘Éspirits’ by Christian Boltanski, ‘Utopia Saved’ by Lee Bul, ‘As They See Us’ in collaboration with Magnum Photos, and NEW NOW – a research project delving into ideas of the present moment and exploring potential scenarios for our shared future. As a result of the collaboration with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Anna has created and is co-presenting a major public program, ‘Other Minds’, at the 2024 Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.


Paco Calvo

Paco Calvo (Ph.D., University of Glasgow, 2000) is a Professor of Philosophy of Science, and Principal Investigator of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINTLab) at the University of Murcia (Spain). His research interests range broadly within the cognitive sciences, with special emphasis on plant intelligence, ecological psychology and embodied cognitive science, robotics, and AI. He uses time-lapse photography to explore perception-action and learning in plants. His scientific articles have appeared in Annals of Botany, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Frontiers in Neurorobotics, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Journal of the Royal Society, Plant, Cell & Environment, Plant Signaling & Behavior, Scientific Reports, and Trends in Plant Science, among other journals. He is the author of the popular best-selling book Planta Sapiens (Norton 2023, with Natalie Lawrence).

Ayman Zedani

Ayman Zedani’s investigative practice works to upend our comprehension of the past and challenge our acceptance of the future. His work includes videos, installations, and immersive environments that consider the future of the Gulf. His resultant projects are platforms to invite audiences to observe human-nonhuman symbiosis, leaving his narratives open to a multitude of interpretations and questions. His arc of inquiry highlights the interactions and relationships of humans in the more-than-human world, framing his practices and projects as extended animism.

Working in very different geographies—from Bangladesh to Rome and Lagos—senior curators and heads of institutions share their experience in institution-building and creating alternative models while navigating the intricacies of private, national, and self-organized institutions.

Diana Campbell is the Founding Artistic Director of Dhaka-based Samdani Art Foundation, Bangladesh, and Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit, having lead its critically acclaimed 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2023 editions. Concurrent to her work in Bangladesh from 2016–18, Campbell was also the Founding Artistic Director of Bellas Artes Projects in the Philippines and curated Frieze Projects in London for the 2018 and 2019 editions of the fair. She chairs the board of the Mumbai Art Room. Her writing has been published by Mousse, Frieze, Art in America, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), among others.

Hou Hanru is an international curator and art critic and served as an Artistic Director of MAXXI, the National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, from 2013 to 2023. He has also served as Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs and as the Chair of Exhibition and Museum Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute from 2006 to 2012. He has curated over 150 exhibitions across the world, notably biennales and triennials in Johannesburg, Shanghai, Gwangju, Venice, Guangzhou, Istanbul, Lyon, Auckland, Shenzhen. He has been a consultant and advisor at many international institutions, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, De Appel Foundation in Amsterdam, and the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai.

Snejana Krasteva is a curator and educator. She is currently Head of Curatorial programs at Diriyah Contemporary Biennale 2024 and co-founder of the Eastern Balkans Institute for Art and Architecture in Bulgaria. She served as Chief Curator at Luminous Art Foundation, Lisbon (2022–2023) and as Senior Curator of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (2013–2022). She grew up between Bulgaria and Morocco, received her BA in Chinese studies from the University of Nanjing, China, in 2004 and her MFA in Curatorial studies from Goldsmiths College, London, in 2011.

Azu Nwagbogu is an internationally acclaimed curator, interested in evolving new models of engagement with questions of decolonization, restitution, and repatriation. Nwagbogu is the Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organisation based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Founder and Director of LagosPhoto Festival, an international arts festival of photography. He is the publisher of Art Base Africa, a National Geographic Society Explorer at Large, and the curator of the first ever Republic of Benin pavilion for the 2024 Venice Biennale.

The Visual Arts Commission in partnership with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation Public Program invites you to join Alice Audoin, Ute Meta Bauer and Qutouf Elobaid for a conversation on sustainability in the art world.

The panelists will discuss how the visual arts sector can play a critical role in disseminating information and introducing innovative practices and initiatives in response to the climate emergency. They will elaborate on examples of engagements with local and international artists and institutions that bring future perspectives for a sustainable art world.

This talk is made possible by The Visual Arts Commission.

Ute Meta Bauer (born 1958 in Stuttgart, Germany) is an educator and curator in the field of contemporary art. Since 2013, she has been the Founding Director of the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore and a Professor at the School of Art, Design, and Media at Nanyang Technological University. She co-chairs the Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices and leads the “Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss” research project. Bauer co-curated Documenta11 (2002) and the 3rd Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2004). With Paul C. Ha, she co-curated the US Pavilion at the 56th Biennale di Venezia (2015), receiving an honorary mention. She also curated the Singapore Pavilion at the 59th Biennale di Venezia and was a curator of the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022).

Chair and founder of Art of Change 21, consultant, curator, and author, Alice Audouin has spent 24 years in sustainable development, focusing on contemporary art and the environment. She organized the first international symposium on “The Artist as Stakeholder” at UNESCO in 2004. With Art of Change 21, Audouin enriches the intersection of art and environmental issues and introduces art to global events like the COP Climate Conferences. She has curated numerous exhibitions on environmental themes and served as a guest curator at Art Paris 2022. Audouin was instrumental in establishing Novethic for the Caisse des Dépôts Group and was the sustainable development director for Havas Group. She has published six books and has taught at the University of Cergy-Pontoise and the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne.

Qutouf Elobaid is the Special Projects Coordinator at Art Jameel, where she leads the Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform. Her work focuses on supporting regional artists and sustainability projects. Beyond her primary role, she is a dedicated writer and curator, emphasizing Sudanese art and culture.

The Black Box, a small-scale theater/cinema, located in hall B1, has been created to provide a space for watching films together on a single screen. While a number of films use poetic language or mythical characters to excavate the past and unfold the stories embedded in places and histories, others draw from themes ranging from ancient Arabic poetry to the science of the Amazonian Forest, the migration of birds, plantations, and crypto mining. The lines of inquiry pursued in each film contextualize the impact of hegemonic structures within a range of geographies, while offering windows into alternate imaginaries. Dedicated to the possibilities of the moving image, this panel invites film curators and scholars to respond to the film program of After Rain, in conversation with two of the participating artists.

Saodat Ismailova is a filmmaker and artist who came of age in the post-Soviet era in Central Asia. She graduated from Tashkent State Art Institute in Uzbekistan and Le Fresnoy, National Studio of Contemporary Arts in France. Drawing on the cultural identities and vernacular histories of Central Asia, Ismailova’s films meditate on memory, spirituality, immortality, and extinction, frequently based around oral stories in which women are the lead protagonists, and exploring systems of knowledge suppressed by globalized modernity. She initiated Davra research collective in Central Asia, 2021. In 2022 she participated in 59th Biennale of Venice and presented new work at documenta fifteen. In 2022, she received The Eye Art & Film Prize, Amsterdam. Saodat Ismailova is a participating artist in the DCAB 2024, her film 18 000 Worlds (2024) is screened daily as part of the film program in the Black Box in exhibition hall B1.

Dirk Snauwaert is founding director of WIELS, a position he has held since 2004. Before joining WIELS, he was co-director of the Institut d’art contemporain Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, in France; director of the Munich Kunstverein from 1996 to 2001, and curator for contemporary art at the PSK/PBAn Centre for Fine Arts Bozar, Brussels, from 1989 to 1995. He has organized and coordinated numerous monographic and thematic exhibition, and he also lectures and publishes regularly on art and visual culture.

Akram Zaatari is a Lebanese artist who produces videos, installations of photographic material, and books on a range of interconnected themes, subjects and practices related to excavation, political resistance, and the production and circulation of images in times of war. Zaatari has played a critical role in developing the formal, intellectual and institutional infrastructure of Beirut’s contemporary art scene. As co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation, he has actively contributed to the discourse on the preservation of photographs and archival practice. Zaatari is a member of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation’s Curatorial Advisory Committee.

Ala Younis is an artist with curatorial, film, and publishing projects. Using objects, film and printed matter, she often seeks instances where historical and political events collapse into personal ones. She holds a BSc. in Architecture from the University of Jordan and MRes in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. She is co-founder of the publishing initiative Kayfa ta, co-head of the Berlinale’s Forum Expanded, artistic director of the Academy of the Arts of the World (Cologne), and a research scholar at al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art, at New York University Abu Dhabi. She was co-artistic director of the Singapore Biennale 2022.

Commissioned as a digital platform, The Learning Garden extends the exhibition of After Rain and the year-long Biennale Encounters beyond their physical location and temporal framework. Exploring the themes and questions running across this Biennale edition, works presented in online formats focus on research-based practices, including a selection of newly commissioned digital works and content from other participating artists. This conversation unpacks the possibilities of the digital and new media for reaching wider audiences. It also considers how new tools have been inspiring artists to venture into new explorations and looks at expanding notions of authorship and place as shaped by digital formats.

Tara Aldugaither is an artist, curator, and vocalist. In 2020 she founded Sawtasura (meaning “voice of the image”), a community-based reimagination platform focusing on women’s musical histories in the Arab Peninsula. In addition to her curatorial work with private and public entities, Aldugaither’s practice extends into programming, publishing, and performing musical culture as an alternative form of continuing embodied knowledge in collaboration with artists from across the Arab-speaking world and beyond. Tara Aldugaither is a participating artist in DCAB 2024. Her new commissioned work in collaboration with media artist Joe Namy can be found on The Learning Garden, the digital platform of the Biennale, which can be accessed via https://garden.dcab24.art.

Alfredo Cramerotti is Director of The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern Qatar. He works at the intersection of contemporary art, digital formats, film and video, performance, communication and online worlds. Cramerotti was Director of MOSTYN, Wales, UK and Co-director of Art Dubai Digital 2024; of IAM Infinity Art Museum, the first blockchain-based art museum; Co-founder of Multiplicity Art Consultancy publishing and curatorial platform dedicated to women and female-identifying artists working with advanced technologies. He holds a PhD in communication design from the European Centre for Photography, University of South Wales, Cardiff.

Priyageetha Dia addresses Southeast Asia plantation histories and its contemporary legacies including speculation of the tropics, and ancestral memory meeting machine logics. She primarily works with computer-generated imagery (CGI) and has developed a digital vocabulary that explores the connections between technology, labour production, and environmental destruction. Her sensorial environments translate colonial histories into a space of visceral experience. Priyageetha Dia is a participating artist in the DCAB 2024, her work Spectre System (2024) can be found in the exhibition hall B5.

Join us for this special closing edition of "How We Met" featuring pioneering Saudi artist Ahmed Mater and Milan-born photographer Armin Linke.
The duo's collaborative artwork "Saudi Futurism" is one of the Biennale's highlights, combining photography and installation to document the nation's metamorphosing landscapes. This partnership of like-minded artists led to an upcoming show at SAMOCA.
Don't miss the opportunity to hear firsthand how their intuitive, improvisational, and research-driven journey took them from NEOM to Thuwal, Riyadh, Dhahran, and beyond, as they documented the shifting soil of Saudi.

Physician turned artist, Dr. Ahmed Mater is one of the most significant cultural voices documenting and scrutinising the realities of contemporary Saudi Arabia. Forging an ongoing, complex mapping of the Kingdom, his practice explores collective memories to uncover and record unofficial histories. The historical, geographical and topical breadth of his research-led inquiries are sharpened by the incisive actions of his conceptual works. With this scope, Mater imagines possible prognoses for a land of unprecedented religious, social, economic, and political influence. His life has been lived poised at intersections, tracing fracturing fault lines of vying systems: past, present and future; tradition and innovation; heritage and globalisation; religion, faith, economic prowess and modernisation. Using photography, film, sculpture and performance, he maps, documents and analyses these changes, considering the psychological impact on the individual, the community, society, and the world.

Armin Linke is a photographer and filmmaker who documents the impact of globalization, the built environment, and postindustrial economies while questioning the nature of the photographic medium and its conventions of display. Often working with scientists and other experts, he has explored topics ranging from space mining to a particle physics laboratory, power sources, and his own photographic archive. He has had solo exhibitions recently at Centre Pompidou (2023/2024), the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023), and the Luxembourg Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale (2023). He is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.