Illuminating Cultures Riyadh Art Festival Bridges Saudi and Italian Creativity in Venice

From Riyadh to Venice: Noor Riyadh Expands Global Horizons for Saudi Art The luminous journey of the Noor Riyadh festival is set to extend beyond borders with a new and spectacular art exhibition in Venice, running from October 19 to November 23. The showcase provides a compelling introduction to the creative forces shaping Noor Riyadh 2025, heralded as the world’s largest festival dedicated to light art. Curated under the evocative theme “In the Blink of an Eye,” the exhibition explores the fast-paced nature of cultural transformation. This thematic structure mirrors the dynamic evolution of Riyadh, capturing its emergence as both a regional and global arts hub. Organized in partnership with Fondazione Querini Stampalia—a renowned Italian cultural institution—this initiative underscores deeper connections between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Italy, and by extension, East and West. The curatorial team includes Mami Kataoka, in collaboration with Sarah Al-Mutlaq and Li Zhenhua, who together crafted a unified artistic narrative around human experience, transformation, and light. The exhibition establishes a powerful conceptual bridge between Riyadh and Venice, rendered in a shared visual and emotional language. On display are the works of four distinguished artists who will again take center stage at Noor Riyadh 2025, to be held in Riyadh from November 20 to December 6. Among them, Kim Eung-won presents a vision of the Riyadh Metro Project, portraying it not just as critical infrastructure but as a public art space where contemporary art is woven into daily life through station design. Wang Yuyang contributes a dynamic work that narrates Riyadh’s technological and urban ascent, reflecting its sleek, modern identity shaped by rapid transformation. With a piece steeped in calligraphic tradition, Saudi artist Abdulrahman Al Shahed symbolically links Riyadh and Venice, evoking historic cultural exchanges between Arab and European civilizations. The exhibition also pays tribute to the late Safeya Binzagr (1940–2024), a pioneering figure in modern Saudi art, introducing her visionary works and enduring cultural legacy to a new, international audience. Hosted within the exquisitely designed halls of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a building masterfully reimagined by famed architect Carlo Scarpa, the exhibition facilitates a rich dialogue between classical Italian architecture and contemporary Saudi aesthetics. The setting enhances the exhibition’s immersive effect, blending space, history, and artistic vision. This landmark event aligns with the broader mission of the Riyadh Art Program to position the Saudi capital as a global destination for cultural and artistic exchange. It also reflects the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, which highlights culture and the creative economy as transformative forces driving urban development and international engagement. With its vivid celebration of light, memory, and transformation, Noor Riyadh’s Venice exhibition exemplifies the Kingdom’s growing cultural outreach and commitment to nurturing a global dialogue through art. Signed,Team V.DIR-EM-UAE