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The Visual Arts Commission presents Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The exhibition runs until 11th April 2026, and features over 250 artworks by 73 artists, some shown publicly for the first time, alongside archival materials offering new insights into the formative years of Saudi Arabia’s modern art movement.
Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement is the inaugural presentation of a wider program, culminating two years of research initiated by the Visual Arts Commission, encompassing more than 80 site visits, 120 artist reports, and 50 interviews with those who recall and preserve the era.
Diverse
Dina Amin, CEO of the Visual Arts Commission stated: “Beginnings showcases a pivotal phase in the development of modern Saudi art, combining artworks and archival materials to present a comprehensive picture of the creative achievements of the artists, pioneers, and supporters who contributed to establishing the art movement within the Kingdom. The exhibition offers an opportunity to engage with a rich and diverse visual history, emphasizing the importance of preserving this heritage as a living reference and source of inspiration for future generations.”
The exhibition is structured in three parts, pairing documentation with key works by leading figures:
Foundations of the Modern Art Movement in Saudi Arabia The opening section examines the foundations of the Kingdom’s modern art movement, exploring how artists shaped both grassroots and institutional frameworks from the 1940s through the 1980s. It traces the introduction of art education in schools and acknowledges early practitioners who shaped the trajectory of modern practice.
Currents of Modernity The exhibition’s second section, Currents of Modernity, focuses on thematic and interpretive issues that shaped artistic production. It is organized around four interconnected themes reflecting the realities of that period: Nature and Landscape, Social Life, Faces and Features, and Dreams and Symbols. These subjects became spaces through which artists expressed continuity and transformation, harmonising inherited cultural heritage with a changing present.
Modernist Pioneers: Key Figures The final section focuses on four artists whose contributions and visual languages were central to the evolution of the early art scene. Through selected works and archival material, this section examines their individual trajectories as artists and their role in building a community-led art movement. Spotlighting Abdulhalim Radwi, Mohammed Alsaleem, Mounirah Mosly, Safeya Binzagr.
Emerging from diverse local contexts across the Kingdom, the artists in this exhibition developed distinct approaches to form, material, and subject matter while sharing a commitment to cultural specificity and experimentation. Their practices contributed to the consolidation of a modern art movement whose influence continues to inform contemporary artistic production.
The full list of artists includes:
Abdah Yassine Kamal Almualem
Abdulaziz Alhammad Khalid Alabdan
Abdulhalim Radwi Khalil Hassan Khalil
Abdulhamid Albaqshi Mahdi Rajah
Abduljabbar Alyahya Mansour Kurdi
Abdullah Almarzoug Mfareh Asiri
Abdullah Alshaikh Mirza Alsaleh
Abdullah Alshalti Mohammad Alhamad
Abdullah Hammas Mohammad Alsaqabi
Abdullah Idrees Mohammad Ridha Waris
Abdullah Nawawi Mohammad Siyam
Abdulrahman Alsoliman Mohammed Alajam
Abdulsattar Almusa Mohammed Almunif
Ahmad Abdulaziz Alaaraj Mohammed Alresayes
Ahmad Alghamdi Mohammed Alsaleem
Ahmad Almaghlouth Mohammed Alsandal
Ahmad Alzahrani Mohammed Rasim
Ahmed Alsebt Mounirah Mosly
Ahmed Felemban Muhammad Taher Kurdi
Ahmed Tayeb Munshi Nabil Najdi
Ali Alghamdi Nabila Albassam
Ali Alruzaiza Nasser Almousa
Ali Alsaffar Othman Khuzaim
Badria Alnasir Saad Almasari
Bakr Sheikhoun Saad Alobaid
Dia Aziz Dia Saadoun Alsaadoun
Fahad Alhajailan Safeya Binzagr
Fahad Alrubaiq Saleh Khattab
Faisal Almeshari Samir Aldaham
Faisal Samra Saud Aleidi
Fouad Mougharbel Saud Alqahtani
Hamad Aljuaid Suleiman Bajabaa
Hamza Bajouda Taha Sabban
Hasan Abdulmajid Turki Aldosary
Hisham Binjabi Yousef Jaha
Ibrahim Alfassam
Ibrahim Bugis
Jameel Aljefri
Initiative
Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement furthers the Visual Arts Commission’s commitment to document and preserve Saudi visual culture. The exhibition is the inaugural outcome of an extensive research initiative. It will be accompanied by a program of workshops, masterclasses, and panel discussions, with a comprehensive publication and an original documentary film to follow.
Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement
January 27–April 11, 2026
The National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
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