BIENALSUR brings global art to Diriyah

Welcome to Al-Monitor Riyadh.

This week we spotlight the opening of the contemporary art exhibition BIENALSUR 2025 at the Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art, an Islamic art exhibition at Sotheby’s in London, the move by London-based art dealer Colnaghi to establish a new outpost in Riyadh, and where to get Peruvian food in the Saudi capital.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Riyadh's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: BIENALSUR 2025

Marta Minujín, “Sculpture of Dreams,” 2022. Courtesy of SAMoCA

The Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) presents a range of vibrant and engaging artworks from Saudi Arabia and around the world in the fourth Saudi edition of the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of South America, BIENALSUR, further emphasizing the cross-cultural dialogue the kingdom is fostering through contemporary art. 

Under the banner “Let’s Play: A Labyrinth of Options,” the exhibition features 26 international and Saudi artists exploring the themes of chance, choice and the human imagination. 

During the Oct. 15 opening in the JAX District of Diriyah, on the outskirts of Riyadh, visitors experienced SAMoCA transformed by sound, light and movement through a display of works that directly engage the audience. Participating artists include Arwa Alneami, Lia Chaia, Dur Kattan, Marta Minujin, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Liliana Porter, Nasser Al Turki, and Erwin Wurm, among others. 

Date: Until Dec. 31, 2025

Location: SAMoCA, JAX District, Diriyah, Riyadh

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Coya Riyadh

A view of Coya Riyadh. (Courtesy of Coya) 

If you’re in the mood for delicious Peruvian flavors, head to Coya’s Riyadh outpost with its colorful, buzzy ambience where guests can enjoy enticing flavors from an elevated Latin American menu that has quickly made it one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Be sure to try the zesty guacamole while waiting for your main course as well as enticing Nikkei specialities like the Chilean sea bass served with rice and lime aji amarillo and the beef fillet skewers as well as Coya’s version of patatas bravas, crispy potatoes served with spicy tomato and huancaina sauce, a dish that will make you want to return for more.

Location: 8710 Prince Abdulaziz Ibn Musaid Ibn Jalawi Street, As Sulimaniyah, Riyadh 

Find more information here.

3. Riyadh diary

A close-up of an Islamic minbar. (Courtesy of Ithra) 

• Patterns of Faith: Living Traditions in Islamic Art

“Patterns of Faith: Living Traditions in Islamic Art,” an exhibition at Sotheby’s in London, showcases a series of Islamic art objects and architectural elements developed through partnerships between artisan communities, the nonprofit organization Turquoise Mountain, and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran. Created by leading Afghan, Jordanian, Palestinian, Syrian, and Saudi Arabian artisans, each piece reflects vibrant craftsmanship, design and innovation rooted in diverse heritage traditions.

Originally created for Ithra’s permanent collection , “Patterns of Faith” provides the opportunity to view these objects in London for the first time. 

All the display pieces are available to order as bespoke commissions from master artisans through Turquoise Mountain.

Date: Oct. 24–Nov. 5

Location: Sotheby’s, Bond Street, London

Find more information here.

• “In the Blink of an Eye,” Saudi artists in Venice

An exhibition of contemporary art in Venice, Italy, is previewing work by Saudi artists ahead of the next edition of the annual Noor Riyadh art festival (Nov. 20–Dec. 6). “In the Blink of an Eye” — organized in collaboration with Italy’s Fondazione Querini Stampalia and curated by Mami Kataoka, alongside Sarah Al-Mutlaq and Li Zhenhua — explores the human experience, transformation and light through art that connects Venice and Riyadh through a visual language.

Date: Until Nov. 23, 2025

Location: Venice, Italy

Find more information here.

• Colnaghi Gallery to open in Riyadh

Colnaghi, founded in 1760 and based in London, remains one of the most prominent galleries dealing in old masters, antiquities and pre-20th-century art. In September 2025 at the Cultural Investment Conference in Riyadh, Colnaghi and Saudi private equity firm Sarat Investment Holding signed a deal worth 10 million Saudi riyals ($2.6 million) for the British company to open a gallery in the capital. An opening date is yet to be announced for what will mark the first old master gallery on the emerging Saudi art market. The Riyadh store will be the gallery’s fourth branch, the others located in Madrid and New York, in addition to London. 

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: “Modern Arab Kingship”

In the groundbreaking “Arab Modern Kingship" (2023, Princeton University Press), Adam Mestyan argues that post-Ottoman Arab political orders were not, as many historians believe, products of European colonialism but of the process he calls “recycling empire.” Mestyan asserts in this engaging read  that in the post–World War I Middle East, officials of the Allied Powers and former Ottoman patricians collaborated to remake imperial institutions, “recycling” earlier Ottoman uses of genealogy and religion in the creation of new polities, with the exception of Palestine. Mestyan draws on previously untapped Ottoman, French, Saudi and Syrian archives to offer a fresh perspective on how monarchy and modern statehood emerged across the region.

5. View from Riyadh

Event artwork of Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day three of the Six Kings Slam 2025 at ANB Arena on Oct. 18, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

6. By the numbers

• According to the 2025 edition of Knight Frank’s annual review of Saudi Arabia’s development plans, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority is transforming Diriyah into a world-class heritage destination with a project value of $63 billion. The area merges historic Najdi architecture with modern luxury.
• The report details how Diriyah Gate is among the most advanced giga project developments in the kingdom, with the total value of commissioned projects standing at $14.5 billion to date, with an additional $45.6 billion in the pipeline. In 2024, $5.9 billion in contracts were awarded, and to that was added another $3.7 billion in the first eight months of 2025, according to the report.