Jeddah – June 1, 2025 (6 Muharram 1447 AH)
At the heart of Jeddah's cultural scene, specifically at Hayy Jameel, an exceptional art exhibition titled "Changing Faces" has opened, shedding light on the evolution of modern art movements and practices across the Arabian Gulf during the 20th century. The exhibition runs until October 13, 2025.

The exhibition offers an in-depth artistic and research experience surveying the history of modern art in the Gulf states — including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar — through works by more than 50 artists who helped shape the identity of contemporary Gulf art and influenced the building of cultural institutions and modern artistic communities.

A Visual Narrative of Gulf Transformation and Modernity

The exhibition focuses on pivotal moments in Gulf art history that saw cultural and artistic crossovers coincide with the founding stages of the modern nation-states of the Gulf. The works on display show how artists engaged with the duality of tradition and modernity, drawing on social and political contexts to translate them into new visual vocabularies charged with identity and aesthetic awareness.

An Intellectual and Visual Reference Point

The exhibition takes its title from a seminal essay by the late artist and curator Okwui Enwezor, published in 1994 in the first issue of Nka magazine. It opens an intellectual dialogue linking the Gulf experience with global cultural experiences that seek to reshape prevailing systems of knowledge and artistic policy.

The current edition builds on an earlier exhibition titled "Gulf Modernism: Pioneers and Art Collectives on the Arabian Peninsula," held in 2022 at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, which served as an important visual reference documenting the early stirrings of the Gulf art movement.

Building the Gulf's Artistic Memory

"Changing Faces" spotlights artists who helped shape Gulf art schools through their works and initiatives, which supported the development of the region's cultural and artistic infrastructure. It also highlights their role in founding exhibitions, art collectives and art-education centers, cementing a coherent, evolving art scene that expresses a diversity of visions and experiences.

The exhibition offers visitors and art and culture enthusiasts a unique opportunity to explore the transformations of Gulf art from an academic, cross-border aesthetic perspective, underscoring the role of the arts as a vital component in building a contemporary cultural identity.