Art Week Riyadh with Oliver Farrell
Across a crowded room in the JAX District offices, Dina Amin, CEO of the Visual Arts Commission, welcomed the exhibitors, journalists and guests to the inaugural Art Week Riyadh.
What is an Art Week? We look to Basel, Miami, London, Hong Kong as exemplars of the art week – an opportunity for galleries to collocate, exhibit emerging and established artists and draw commercial interest from local and international audiences. The first Art Week Riyadh (AWR) is a tentative step into this style of an Art Week of international significance under the auspices of the Visual Arts Commission (VAC).
The first public suggestion of an art week in Riyadh was perhaps during a series of talks hosted by the VAC at Fenaa Alawwal in late 2023. The panellists all speculated on whether the Saudi market was ‘ready’ for an art week, or if there was a collector base to warrant such an event. Over 12 months later, the inaugural Art Week Riyadh seems to be testing those waters.
“Curatorially cohesive displays, paired back wall labels, discreet gallery names, no booth numbers, this is not your typical art fair, because it is trying not to be.”
Entering the Main Venue of the AWR gallery spaces (repurposed from the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale) we are met with the grace and production value of an institutional show. Among the international galleries from Paris, Mumbai, Madrid and Dubai, local Saudi gallerists and local artists are brought to the foreground and are a clear focal point for the curatorial team. The production value of lighting and exhibition design elicits the aura of museum quality pieces, but there is an obscurity around whether these pieces are actually for sale.
Video works are thoughtfully displayed in a custom-made cinema space within the main venue. Diriyah Gate Development Authority offers a didactic approach to material considerations through a natural materials lab for contemporary arts practitioners – an opportunity rarely offered in an entirely commercial art fair. Outside the main venue, institutions such as SAMoCA, Art Jameel, Ithra and the Saudi Research and Media Group have collection works on display (definitely not for sale). Galleries already inside JAX such as Lift, Athr and Hafez have new exhibitions open for audiences while JAX studios, both collective and individual occupancy spaces, opened their doors for visitors.
Inside these open studios are a number of highlight events throughout the week – Alserkal Advisory is hosting ‘Reunion,’ a showcase of works created during the inaugural Neom Residency within the studio of Ayman Zedani. Artist Hayat Osama is showcasing photographic works in the studio of Marwah Almugait while the team behind the Aimes are hosting a special Tuesday night Lammat event of live music.
So, what will be the outcome of an Art Week in Riyadh?
This question will be interrogated throughout the week, both casually and more intentionally through the public programs. Curious galleries are already looking with keen anticipation to understand if this first foray into an art week will yield a burgeoning new collector base in Saudi. Or is this tentative step into commercialising an industry heavily subsidies by governmental entities just a tentative step?
With plenty of expendable income and a cultural palate for buying unique objects, the Saudi market might seem to be ready for a new commodity – contemporary art. But while-ever luxury handbags and designer watches dominate personal taste, the art market and galleries in Saudi might be safer geared toward institutional sales. All the works on display in the first AWR Main Venue are of museum quality, and it may be for one of the future museums across the kingdom that the VAC has envisioned this style of display. Acquisitions over commercial collectors.
Overall, the first Art Week Riyadh is a nice change of gears. Without the pressure to sell, gallery displays offer a visitor experience that sits somewhere between a Biennale and an art fair. What this event succeeds at, however, is focusing direct attention to the local galleries within the main venue, as well as artists and entities existing throughout JAX District. As a visitor to AWR, the unique opportunity to see behind the roller doors of the JAX studios, to walk through the district while it is activated, and to meet young talent makes this week a worthwhile event. A big مبروك to the VAC team and to all exhibitors on the first Art Week Riyadh.
