Islamic Arts Biennale Reveals Lead Curators for 2027 Edition

The third Islamic Arts Biennale will return to Jeddah on November 1st, 2027, once again taking over the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Organised by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the exhibition will bring historical works together with contemporary commissions across four exhibitions, with this edition focusing on themes including movement, cultural exchange, intangible heritage, resilience and community.

The Hajj Terminal remains central to the Biennale’s identity. Designed around the movement of pilgrims arriving in Jeddah, the site gives the exhibition a setting already shaped by travel, encounter and the circulation of people and ideas.

Four lead curators will oversee the 2027 edition, bringing backgrounds in Islamic art scholarship, contemporary art, architecture, international museums and the art market.

The Biennale will also expand AlMadar, its collaborative programme linking museums, institutions and private collections in Saudi Arabia and abroad. The next edition will introduce a digitised archival platform alongside a wider programme of partnerships and exhibitions.

New contemporary commissions will appear throughout the Biennale, while the second AlMusalla Prize will return with proposals exploring new approaches to prayer and worship spaces beneath the Hajj Terminal’s distinctive canopies.

Here are the four lead curators shaping the 2027 Islamic Arts Biennale.

[1] Nada Raza

Curator and researcher Nada Raza explores connections between the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, with a focus on migration, exchange and transcultural histories.

[2] William Robinson

With more than 40 years of experience at Christie’s, William Robinson is an expert in Islamic art and has researched and brought major works to the international market.

[3] Alain Fouad George

An Oxford scholar specialising in Islamic art and architecture, Alain Fouad George researches the Umayyad era, early Qur’anic manuscripts and the history of Arabic calligraphy.

[4] Idries Trevathan

Former Chief Curator at Ithra, Idries Trevathan has spent more than two decades exploring Islamic art as a living tradition through exhibitions, research and cultural projects.