Arcangelo Sassolino, the only Italian artist at the 2nd Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah

And All That Is In Between is the title of the second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah—a city that has historically served as a crossroads of cultures—organized by the Diriyah Biennale Art Foundation.
The exhibition will be open to the public from January 26 to May 25, 2025, at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz Airport.

Curators of this major event are Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer in his role as Director of the Al Thani Collection, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, along with Saudi artist Muhannad Shono for the Contemporary Art section. The Biennale offers a unique perspective on how culture endures amid the sweeping transformations currently underway in Saudi Arabia, all within a broader framework of international reference points.

Arcangelo Sassolino is the only Italian artist invited by Muhannad Shono to create a site-specific work for the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah. Shono and Sassolino met during the 59th International Art Exhibition in Venice, where Shono represented Saudi Arabia and Sassolino contributed to the Pavilion of Malta.

Memory of Becoming is the title of Arcangelo Sassolino’s installation conceived specifically for the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah. Sassolino has carefully crafted this work to reflect the very essence of a Biennale that explores and celebrates the interconnections of art, culture, and spirituality.

ARCANGELO SASSOLINO
Memory of Becoming

And All That Is In Between
Islamic Arts Biennale

January 25 – May 25, 2025
Western Hajj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

other exhibitions

all the exhibitions

exhibition09 November 2025 Paola Pivi’s exhibition I don’t like it, I love it opens at AGWA in Australia exhibition05 November 2025 Maurizio Cattelan Awarded the Preis der Nationalgalerie 2026 agenda31 October 2025 "Art Under 35: The Foreign Challenge" exhibition18 September 2025 Italy and Lithuania in Kaunas: An Encounter between Nature and Creativity Echoes Between Forests and Mountains is the collateral exhibition of the 15th Kaunas Biennial (Lithuania), a collaboration between the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, the Italian Cultural Institute in Vilnius, the Kaunas Biennial and the Gherdëina Biennial.
The exhibition will be on display at the Kaunas City Museum and the Meno parkas Gallery from 12 September to 9 November 2025. It offers a stimulating dialogue between Italian artists — such as the Atelier dell'Errore collective, Arnold Holzknecht (Val Gardena, 1960) and Ruth Beraha (Milan, 1986) — and Lithuanian artists, including Aistė Ambrazevičiūtė, Andrius Arutiunian and Maximilian Oprishka.
The exhibition explores the complex relationship between nature, myth, technology and human intervention, inviting viewers to reflect on ecological processes, human stories and possible futures. The selected works offer new perspectives on the world, questioning the anthropocentric view and revealing the tension between beauty, instability and mystery.
The project is part of a broader two-year programme (2025-2026) dedicated to cultural exchange between Italy and Lithuania, aimed at promoting the artistic talents of both countries. The collaboration will conclude in 2026, when three Lithuanian artists will be guests at the 10th Gherdëina Biennale in Val Gardena (BZ), from 29 May to 13 September.
Atelier dell'Errore (AdE) is an artistic collective based in Reggio Emilia, dedicated to the visual and performing arts. Founded in 2015 by artist Luca Santiago Mora, the group now consists of 11 young neurodivergent artists.