Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations, the first traveling group exhibition of Saudi contemporary artists, opened on February 24, 2025, at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) in JAX. Running until May 24, 2025, the exhibition follows its successful debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Featuring works by 17 leading Saudi artists, Art of the Kingdom explores the nation’s cultural heritage through paintings, installations, and video works. Commissioned by the Museums Commission under the Saudi Ministry of Culture and curated by art critic Diana Wechsler, the exhibition attracted 26,000 visitors at its inaugural showcase in Brazil. Later this year, it will travel to the National Museum of China in Beijing to commemorate 25 years of Saudi-Chinese diplomatic relations.
The exhibition is structured around two themes—the desert and cultural tradition—offering an evolving narrative of Saudi Arabia’s visual culture. The desert, depicted as both a physical and symbolic space, serves as a backdrop for reflections on identity, ecology, and the environment. Meanwhile, the influence of Saudi cultural traditions, shaped by history and modern creative industries like cinema, is explored through contemporary perspectives.
Among the featured artists are Muhannad Shono, Manal AlDowayan, Ahmed Mater, Ayman Zedani, and other prominent names in Saudi contemporary art. The Riyadh edition also introduces newly commissioned site-specific works for SAMoCA JAX and key pieces from the Ministry of Culture’s contemporary art collection.
