• Unique global biennale has visited 43 cities in 23 countries, concluding in Riyadh

Sarah AlSuhaimi

Four Saudi artists have been showcasing their work at a unique traveling biennale that has visited 43 cities in 23 countries, and concludes this week in Riyadh.

Fatima Al-Banawi, Sara Abu Abdallah, Faisal Samra and Ayman Zedani took part in the second BIENALSUR exhibition, which began in Buenos Aires in Argentina in May. Saudi Arabia is its only Middle East venue.

The traveling exhibition invites audiences to explore contemporary art that reflects their own lives, with the aim of encouraging intercultural dialogue and understanding.

Al-Banawi’s exhibit is a video installation called “A Blink Of An Eye,” a performance piece with five distinct stories. 

“When we separate ourselves from the screen of our phones, we think that these experiences only happen to these people, but not to us, and through the installation the viewer can interact with a story in a deeper way,” she told Arab News.

“When I work on storytelling, I am speaking in a universal language, and through Vision 2030 Saudi Arabia is addressing a universal language by using arts, culture, storytelling and filmmaking to speak to the local and the global society.”

Zedani’s work is also an installation, exploring how time is tangible. It consists of dyed liquid seeping through pottery cups, creating different patterns that act as a timepiece.