Faig Ahmed on Representing Azerbaijan at the 61st Venice Biennale

Artist Faig Ahmed will represent Azerbaijan at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a project exploring the intersections of mystical poetry and quantum physics. Located in the Campo de la Tana, the pavilion aims to create a contemplative space where technology and ancient oral traditions facilitate a personal dialogue for the viewer. Ahmed’s presentation responds to the Biennale’s overarching theme, 'In Minor Keys,' by focusing on subtle, often overlooked phenomena.

Syrian Artist Sara Shamma To Present An Ode To Palmyra At The 61st Edition Of La Biennale Di Venezia

Syrian artist Sara Shamma will present a large-scale immersive installation titled 'The Tower Tomb of Palmyra' at the 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2026. This marks Syria's first participation in the Biennale since the fall of the Assad regime and the appointment of President Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa. Shamma's project, inspired by the ancient funerary towers of Palmyra destroyed during the Syrian Civil War, aims to restore the heritage site to life through a multisensory journey combining architecture, painting, and other elements. It will be the first solo presentation by a single Syrian artist at the Biennale, departing from previous group exhibitions with European collaborators.

Worthwhile textiles: artist Faig Ahmed’s Art@Bainbridge exhibit

The Princeton University Art Museum’s Art@Bainbridge space has launched "Faig Ahmed: Textiles of Consciousness," a solo exhibition featuring the innovative woven sculptures of the Azerbaijani artist. The show presents ten textiles across four themed galleries, including works from his "GLITCH" series that utilize digital aesthetics and pixelated distortions to subvert traditional carpet-weaving forms. Notable pieces like "The Knot" and "Kutab" illustrate Ahmed's signature style of blending classical Islamic patterns with surreal, melting, or fragmented geometries.

Choreography Instead of Cartography

Choreografie statt Kartografie

The third edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, titled "In Interludes and Transitions," has opened in the JAX District of Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Featuring works by approximately 70 artists across five converted warehouses, the exhibition is curated by Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed with a scenography designed by Formafantasma. Despite regional geopolitical tensions, the event showcases major installations by international artists such as Petrit Halilaj and Thao Nguyen Phan, emphasizing a "choreographic" rather than cartographic approach to global art.

Fresh voices of Pakistani art

The Islamabad Art Gallery has launched 'Souch Say Saqafat Tak,' a landmark exhibition showcasing the debut works of recent art school graduates from across Pakistan. Curated by Raheel Arshad in collaboration with Khyal Art Space, the show features a diverse array of mediums including digital glitches, traditional calligraphy, and abstract portraiture. The opening event drew significant cultural figures, including writer Irfan Ahmed Urfi and photographer Mobeen Ansari, highlighting a collective effort to bridge the gap between academic training and professional practice.

‘Embrace of the Earth’: Rajib Ahasen’s debut solo exhibition opens at AFD

Rajib Ahasen's debut solo exhibition, 'Embrace of the Earth', opened on April 24, 2026, at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD). The show features around 36 works in watercolour and acrylic, rooted in the artist's memories of rural Bangladesh and his transition to urban life. Scenes of earthen roads, canals, riverbanks, and agrarian life dominate the collection, reflecting a personal narrative shaped by observation and recollection. Ahasen, who earned a Mawlana degree from a Qawmi madrasah in 2014 without formal fine arts training, has previously participated in national and international exhibitions including the Friendship Art Exhibition and Kahal International Art Fair.

The Procession as a Form of World: Latin American Artists at the Diriyah Biennale

LA PROCESIÓN COMO FORMA DE MUNDO: ARTISTAS LATINOAMERICANOS EN LA BIENAL DE DIRIYAH

The third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, titled 'In Interludes and Transitions,' is open until May 2nd in Saudi Arabia's historic Diriyah district. Curated by Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed, the exhibition features 68 artists from over 37 countries and frames the world as a multitude of processions, using movement as its central theme and methodology. The exhibition design by Formafantasma encourages a fluid, nomadic journey through four thematic movements and site-specific 'arenas' within the repurposed industrial halls of the JAX creative district.

Artists In Erbil Turn Canvas Around in Bold Exhibition with No Visible Art

Fourteen Kurdish artists staged a provocative "Non-Art Exhibition" at Media Gallery in Erbil to commemorate World Art Day. In a radical departure from traditional gallery formats, the participants displayed only the reverse sides of their canvases, completely concealing the painted surfaces from the audience. Organized by artist Ahmed Nabaz, the one-day event kept its conceptual twist a secret from the participating artists until the moment of the opening.

'Held in Motion': Emerging artists explore identity

Sanat Art Gallery in Karachi has launched "Held in Motion," a group exhibition featuring emerging artists Behzad Ahmed Warsi, Laiba Abid, Ronaque Ali, and Shahzad Baloch. The showcase utilizes diverse mediums, including oil on canvas and watercolor, to explore themes of human identity, social fluidity, and the preservation of memory. From Abid’s blurred portraits of the multifaceted self to Ali’s nostalgic documentation of disappearing rural traditions, the collection emphasizes the subjective nature of the human experience.