Art Across the Arabian Gulf
Overview
Art Across the Arabian Gulf brings together 78 pioneering artists from across the Gulf to trace the region’s artistic evolution from the mid-twentieth century through the 1990s. The book explores how artists in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates forged modern visual languages rooted in their cultural and environmental contexts. Through five main themes - cultural heritage, maritime life, resilience, abstraction, and material experimentation - the publication reconsiders the foundations of Gulf art, highlighting creativity, continuity, and a shared regional identity.
Edited by: Nauf Alfahad, Abdulrahman Sidi, Ethar Alfaqeeh
About the Authors
Aram Alajaji
Assistant Curator at Misk Art Institute.
Cecilia Ruggeri
Cecilia Ruggeri is a curator at Misk Art Institute in Riyadh. She holds a B.A. from Institut d’Etudes Superieurs des Arts (Paris) and an M.A. from the Courtauld Institute of Art (London) and is currently completing a Ph.D. in art history at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Ruggeri's curatorial practice bridges historical and contemporary art, exploring diverse themes, subjects, and display techniques. Informed by her experiences in classical art historical spheres and contemporary spaces, her research aims to redefine the ways art is promoted and consumed while fostering transnational dialogues in art history
Nada Alaradi
Curators at Misk Art Institute, KSA
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is an Emirati columnist and researcher on social, political, and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf States. He is also the founder of Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative established in 2010 to contribute to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region by building a prominent and publicly accessible art collection in the United Arab Emirates. He has taught “Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art” at New York University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Boston College, and SciencesPo, France. Al Qassemi is co-editor with Todd Reisz of Building Sharjah (2021), a book that documents the modern architecture of the city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Abdulrahman Al-Soliman
Abdulrahman Al-Soliman was born in al-Hasa in 1954. He is a Saudi artist and writer who has won many national and international awards during an artistic career that has grown over five decades. He has had solo exhibitions in Dammam, Riyadh, Jiddah, Tangier, Cairo, Kuwait, Paris and Doha. He was head of the Department of Fine Arts at the Society of Culture and Arts in Dammam (1987 – 2000) and was the first president of the Saudi Society for Fine Arts (2007 – 2012). An active writer and editor, he has published many books on the art of Saudi Arabia.
Basma Alshathry
Basma Alshathry, Chief Curator at the Misk Art Institute, has a BA in Art History from the American University in Paris and an MA in History of Decorative Arts and Curatorial Studies from Parsons Paris, the New School. She spearheads various curatorial projects, including the prestigious Misk Art Grant and The Art Library series of publications, which focus on significant Arab artists. Basma’s passion lies in making a social impact through the arts, and her academic research has revolved around topics such as community building and social engagement. Her work primarily involves delving into Saudi art history, documenting its rich history, and providing support to emerging artists. Basma AlShathry’s curatorial accomplishments include her recent curation of the “Echoing the Land” exhibition in Riyadh, and her successful management of the Saudi National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019.
Shadin Albulaihed
Shadin AlBulaihed is a curator based in Riyadh. She was the Assistant Curator for the 8th edition of the Saudi Art Council’s annual 21,39 Jeddah Arts exhibition in 2021, The Secrets of Alidades, curated by Fabien Danesi, and the 9th edition in 2022, Amakin, curated by Venetia Porter. AlBulaihed also served as the Production Manager for the AlUla Residency during the AlUla Arts Festival and completed a curator’s residency at The Delfina Foundation in London in 2022, besides being part of the production team in Noor Riyadh 2022. Worked as the assistant curator for the Saudi national pavilion in Venice biennale the 60th international art exhibition Currently, she is Assistant Curator at the Misk Art Institute, leading the Misk Art Grant program. She holds a BA in Architecture from the School of Design and Architecture from Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah (2017) and an MA in Museum and Gallery Studies from Kingston University in London (2020).
Safiyah Abaalkhailis
Safiyah Abaalkhail is a Saudi artist and curator based in Riyadh. Her curatorial practice and research explore decolonial approaches, the legacies of Orientalism, and the fostering of alternative cultural spaces, with a focus on fostering global collaboration across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. She is the co-founder of Fekr Arabia, an online platform dedicated to amplifying the creative scene in the MENA region. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London (2023), and a Master’s degree in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London, United Kingdom (2024). She has contributed to curatorial projects and exhibitions across the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, engaging with themes that bridge cultural contexts and audiences. Currently, she is an Assistant Curator at Misk Art Institute, contributing to research and exhibition making in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Technical Details
- Publication Date:
- Thursday, October 2, 2025
- Language:
- English & Arabic
- Format:
- Softcover
- Dimensions:
- 22 x 15.5 cm
- Weight:
- 1 kg
- ISBN:
- 978-614-8035-99-9
- Number of Pages:
- 319
- Publisher:
- Kaph Books