BiennialJanuary 23, 2026· By Elisa Rodriguez Campo
Noor Riyadh 25 + 10 Years Bienalsur (Riyadh)
Noor Riyadh 2025, the world's largest light art festival, celebrates its fifth edition by lighting up the Saudi Arabian capital every night from November 20 to December 6. Presented by Riyadh Art under the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), this year's festival, entitled “In the Blink of an Eye,” brings together 59 artists from 24 countries and features 60 works of art, more than 35 of which are new commissions.
Its curators, Mami Kataoka (Mori Art Museum, Tokyo), Riyadh-based curator Sara Almutlaq, and Li Zhenhua (Beijing Art Lab), conceive “In the Blink of an Eye” as multiple light installations, in two complementary routes: from heritage buildings to the vibrant modern lines of Riyadh's award-winning metro system and its contemporary architecture.
Within the framework of Noor Riyadh 25, in the JAX district, BIENALSUR celebrates its tenth anniversary and inaugurates "Let's Play. A labyrinth of Options" at the Saudi Arabian Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMOCA). Diana Wechsler, Artistic Director of BIENALSUR, situates the exhibition 12,838 km from Buenos Aires, with 42% of the invited international artists (11 of the 26 non-Saudi participants) coming from Latin America.
The presence of Latin American artists at Noor Riad has been more than anecdotal. Previous editions have featured Julio Le Parc, Iván Navarro, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (2021); Jac Leirner (2022); Iván Argote, Carlos Cruz Diez, Stefan Bruggemann (2023), among others. This year, Alexandra Gelis and Daniel Iregui DICE stand out.
The markedly playful nature of bringing artistic experiences to the public, so common among Argentine, Brazilian, and Venezuelan artists, helped shape the kinetic, optical, participatory, and interactive revolutions that emerged in the mid-20th century from Paris to Zagreb. These values are also echoed by Mami Kataoka, who pointed out the educational mission of public art in the context of the festival, preparing future viewers, sensitive human beings.
The Riyadh Art Hub is exhibiting “Delivery Dancer's Arc” by the remarkable Ayoung Kim (Korea, 1979). Noor Riyadh 25 includes a special tribute to Safeya Binzagr (1940-2024), a pioneer of modern Saudi art and the first Saudi artist to exhibit publicly in the kingdom.
Since 2021, Noor Riyadh has attracted more than 9.6 million visitors and set 16 Guinness World Records, promoting the creative economy and dialogue between communities.
Its curators, Mami Kataoka (Mori Art Museum, Tokyo), Riyadh-based curator Sara Almutlaq, and Li Zhenhua (Beijing Art Lab), conceive “In the Blink of an Eye” as multiple light installations, in two complementary routes: from heritage buildings to the vibrant modern lines of Riyadh's award-winning metro system and its contemporary architecture.
Within the framework of Noor Riyadh 25, in the JAX district, BIENALSUR celebrates its tenth anniversary and inaugurates "Let's Play. A labyrinth of Options" at the Saudi Arabian Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMOCA). Diana Wechsler, Artistic Director of BIENALSUR, situates the exhibition 12,838 km from Buenos Aires, with 42% of the invited international artists (11 of the 26 non-Saudi participants) coming from Latin America.
The presence of Latin American artists at Noor Riad has been more than anecdotal. Previous editions have featured Julio Le Parc, Iván Navarro, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (2021); Jac Leirner (2022); Iván Argote, Carlos Cruz Diez, Stefan Bruggemann (2023), among others. This year, Alexandra Gelis and Daniel Iregui DICE stand out.
The markedly playful nature of bringing artistic experiences to the public, so common among Argentine, Brazilian, and Venezuelan artists, helped shape the kinetic, optical, participatory, and interactive revolutions that emerged in the mid-20th century from Paris to Zagreb. These values are also echoed by Mami Kataoka, who pointed out the educational mission of public art in the context of the festival, preparing future viewers, sensitive human beings.
The Riyadh Art Hub is exhibiting “Delivery Dancer's Arc” by the remarkable Ayoung Kim (Korea, 1979). Noor Riyadh 25 includes a special tribute to Safeya Binzagr (1940-2024), a pioneer of modern Saudi art and the first Saudi artist to exhibit publicly in the kingdom.
Since 2021, Noor Riyadh has attracted more than 9.6 million visitors and set 16 Guinness World Records, promoting the creative economy and dialogue between communities.
