Vasari Art Codex

museum exhibitions schedule Feb 25, 2026 visibility 2 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

bedayat beginnings of saudi art movement 2747952

The National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh has launched "Bedayat: Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement," a landmark survey exhibition documenting the evolution of the country’s art scene from the 1960s through the 1980s. Curated by Qaswra Hafez and commissioned by the Visual Arts Commission, the show features a vast array of paintings, sculptures, and never-before-seen archival materials. The exhibition is organized into three sections that explore the foundations of the movement, the influence of modernization on daily life, and the specific contributions of four modernist pioneers: Mohammed Al-Saleem, Safeya Binzagr, Mounirah Mosly, and Abdulhalim Radwi.

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Saudi Arabia looks to its Modern art history as the art world eyes up the Gulf

Saudi Arabia is actively showcasing its Modern art history through major exhibitions and sales. The 'Beginnings of Saudi Art Movement' at the National Museum in Riyadh features over 250 works by 73 artists from the 1960s-1980s, highlighting pioneering figures like Mounirah Mosly and Safeya Binzagr. Simultaneously, the Desert X AlUla exhibition is displaying monumental, long-unseen sculptures by Modernist artist Mohammed AlSaleem.