Bedayat: Beginnings Of Saudi Art Movement Charts Decades Of Modern Art In Riyadh

The Visual Arts Commission announces "Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement", a major exhibition examining how Saudi Arabia’s modern art movement took shape between the 1960s and 1980s. It will be held at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from January 27 through , highlighting early artistic practices and their social, cultural, and economic context.

Hosted in the historic Al Murabba’a district, the exhibition presents work by leading artists who helped introduce modern and abstract practices in the Kingdom. Painting, sculpture, works on paper, and rarely seen archival material appear together, showing how these practitioners connected Saudi heritage with international artistic dialogues and created new visual languages.

The Visual Arts Commission based the project on a long-term research programme designed to document early activity. This research includes more than 80 site visits around the Kingdom, 120 detailed artist reports, and recordings drawn from 50 interviews. An advisory group of Abdulrahman Alsuliman, Dr. Mohammed Alrusais, and Dr. Charbel Dagher contributes academic insight and first-hand testimony.

Drawn from this material, the exhibition reconstructs early exhibition histories, education efforts, and artist networks. It shows how grassroots initiatives worked alongside public and private support to build institutions and platforms for visual arts. Visitors can trace how artists responded to rapid urbanisation, shifting economies, and changing social life from the mid-twentieth century onwards.

"Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement" is organised in three thematic sections that guide visitors through this history. "Foundation of the Modern Art Movement in Saudi Arabia" examines how individual artists and state support together shaped the first visual arts scene. "Currents of Modernity" considers the ideas and questions that influenced artistic production during these decades.

The third section, "Modernist Pioneers", focuses on four central figures: Mohammed Al-Saleem, Safeya Binzagr, Mounirah Mosly, and Abdulhalim Radwi. Their works illustrate different approaches to abstraction, modernism, and heritage. Many pieces and documents appear in public for the first time, giving new insight into how these artists developed their practices in dialogue with local communities and global trends.

Reflecting on the exhibition’s role, CEO of the Visual Arts Commission Dina Amin said: "We celebrate here the history of modern art in Saudi Arabia, and we are proud to foreground its rich legacy by honoring the pioneering figures as well as the public and private initiatives whose collective efforts shaped the art scene of this era. We hope this exhibition contributes to an enduring continuum, offering meaningful access to the depth and diversity of our visual arts history." Curator Qaswra Hafez added: "Through Bedayat, we are presenting a comprehensive and research-driven account of Saudi modern art. Through archival study, pioneering artworks, and firsthand narratives, we are preserving the foundations of our modern art movement for future generations. This project is both a tribute to our early artists and a lasting cultural legacy that will continue to inform and inspire audiences across the Kingdom and beyond."

The Visual Arts Commission positions "Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement" within a broader programme to document Saudi visual culture and support further scholarship. A detailed publication and an original documentary film will follow, offering extended analysis of the foundations of Saudi modern art. An accompanying public programme of talks, workshops, and masterclasses will address early art education, influential teachers and institutions, and methods for preserving archives, providing researchers and the wider public with lasting resources.

With inputs from SPA