“We wanted it to extend past the doors of the pavilion,” says Muhannad Shono of The Teaching Tree, the moody, monstrous installation he has created for the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia at the Venice Biennale. “It’s trying to escape its walls.”

Comprising 260 square meters of woven dried palm leaves — all dyed black — The Teaching Tree begins with the thin line of a point, like the beak of a bird, and widens as it stretches towards the pavilion entrance.

The undulating object is internally animated by a pneumatic machine, so that it gives the impression of breathing. The scent of dried palm leaves fills the air and the slow sound of the lungs evoke a beast at rest — slain, perhaps, or just waiting.

Saudi Arabia will take part in the upcoming 2022 Venice Biennale, which will take place from April 23 to Nov. 27.

Local artist Muhannad Shono will be representing Saudi Arabia’s National Pavilion, working alongside curator and art historian Reem Fadda, and assistant curator Rotana Shaker.

Saudi Arabia is taking part in the biennale for the third time. Its pavilion will be explored through the lens of a philosophical concept related to nature and the knowledge and ideas it could offer humans.

Riyadh-based multimedia artist Muhannad Shono will represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the 59th Venice Biennale in April, in a pavilion curated by art historian and curator Reem Fadda with assistant curator Rotana Shaker. No title or theme for the exhibition was announced, though Fadda described it as an “ambitious project” that will “captivate audiences.”

The Saudi Art Council has announced this year’s 21,39 Jeddah Arts, a program of special exhibitions, workshops, and educational forums that are being held across Jeddah through June featuring the work of 27 artists from the Kingdom and other countries.

The exhibition will then be hosted by Ithra, in Dhahran, from June 30 until the end of September.

The cycle of death and renewal in the oasis was the focus of Muhannad Shono’s work, “On This Sacred Day,” with the smoke rising from the installation representing the stories of comings and goings, loss, and remembrance.

He said: “It is a ceremonial piece that transcribes the journey of plant, ash, smoke, and sky, in other words, a cycle of death and renewal unfolding inside a living oasis. It also questions purposeful change, transformation, and impacts to guard against fires that may seek to reduce the world to ash.”

A historic site and stunning works by Saudi artists like Muhannad Shono, as well as international ones, makes the event that erases distances and borders and upholds uniqueness in diversity a must-visit. 

Following its success in Riyadh, the Jeddah edition of BIENALSUR 2021, the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of the South, is underway at the historic site of Qasr Khuzam (Khuzam Palace). And as the travelling art biennale is being held in the port city for the first time, the must-see highlights naturally include the works by Saudi artists, including a new piece by Muhannad Shono. In all 20 artists from 11 countries are participating in the event titled “Echoes: A World between the analogue and the virtual,” which will run until December 30.

BIENALSUR 2021, the second edition of the cultural event of contemporary art from Argentina to the world, arrived in Jeddah, and residents are in for a breathtaking cultural experience.

The exhibition “recovering stories, recovering fantasies” occupied most parts of the restored Jeddah Regional Museum architecture building — considered one of the best museums in Jeddah — with works by Saudi artists Ahaad Al-Amoudi, Lina Gazzaz, Felwa Nazer, Muhannad Shono, and Daniah Alsaleh.

Curated by UCCA's Philip Tinari, the biennial features a strong contingent of Chinese artists including Xu Bing, Zhang Peili, and Nabuqi.

 Simon Denny, Sarah Morris, and Lawrence Lek are among the international artists who will show at the biennale from 11 December 2021 till 11 March 2022. It will take place in Diriyah's JAX district, which comprises over 100 refurbished warehouses not far from Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh.

Of the event's 63 artists, 26 come from Saudi Arabia, including Maha Malluh, Manal AlDowayan, Ahmed Mater, and Sarah Abu Abdallah.

This is “The Fifth Sun,” a textile mural projection with sound created in 2017 by Saudi artist Mohannad Shono. According to the artist, it explores self-fulfilling prophecies — and “self-inflicted wounds” — regarding destruction and rebirth. It is one of the works that Shono — one of Saudi Arabia’s most promising contemporary artists — is showing at BIENALSUR (the International Biennial of Contemporary Art of the South) in Buenos Aires, through the Saudi Ministry of Culture. 

Maan was initiated as a response to the magnitude of the current crisis and its impact on the arts community and a continuation of Athr’s support of the art scene and its artists. It is intrinsic to our mission to proactively participate in their sustainability all while making art accessible to a wider audience and triggering change, particularly in times of uncertainty.  Initiated by Athr in cooperation with artists, the production and research fund consists of creating limited edition artworks by established and emerging artists to support fellow practicing artists.

Open to all Saudi Arabia-based visual artists, irrespective of medium of practice. There are no limitations concerning age, region or provenance of the applicant. If you are a visual artist and have a project that needs a stimulus of funds for completion or need seed funding for production or research, please see the link below and apply online.

For further information, please contact us via this email address.

maangrant@athrart.com