Refreshments will be served between 10.30 am and 11.00 am and copies of the book will be available for purchase.
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About the book:
Art in Saudi Arabia offers a fascinating insight into the fast-changing contemporary-art scene in Saudi Arabia, which is being actively developed as part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 strategy.
'The Saudi art scene is one of the strongest movements emerging in the Middle East, filled with exciting, intelligent, socially conscious artists with training from different fields, who come from different classes of Saudi society. The strong presence of women artists is a noticeable aspect of this scene that has come to the national and international forefront in the past ten years. Let us hope that the development of art and cultural infrastructures now in full bloom by the Saudi Government will not trample the energy and ideas which have already been set free by these artists. This book, an overview, clearly supports the ambitions and achievements of Saudi art beyond the geo-political perspective, yet still taking it into account.'
Chris Dercon, Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain
About the speakers:
Dr Alia Al-Senussi is a renowned member of the contemporary art world, an active cultural strategist, patron, public speaker and academic, with a focus on cultural diplomacy. She holds a number of non-profit board and committee positions at organisations such as Tate (Tate Modern Advisory Council and the Middle East North Africa Acquisitions Committee, previously Chair Tate Young Patrons), Guggenheim (Middle East Council), and Delfina Foundation (Strategic Advisory Board) amongst many others. Al-Senussi is Chairman of the K11 International Council and a Senior Advisor to Art Basel as well as their Representative for the UK and MENA, and a Senior Advisor to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture. Al-Senussi has a PhD in Politics from SOAS University of London and is an affiliated scholar and guest lecturer at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and its Center for Middle East Studies.
Rebecca Anne Proctor is an independent journalist, editor, author and broadcaster based in Dubai and Rome from where she covers the Middle East and North Africa. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Art and Harper’s Bazaar Interiors. Her writing has been published in Artnet News, Frieze, The New York Times Style Magazine; Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East, BBC Worldwide, Galerie, Vogue Arabia, Wallpaper, The National, Architectural Digest, Arab News, Al-Monitor, The Defense Post, The Forward, The Jewish Insider and The Business of Fashion. She is the author of Art in Saudi Arabia: A New Creativity Economy? written with Alia Al-Senussi and published by Lund Humphries in November 2023.
