CURRENT & UPCOMING

The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia at the 61st Venice Biennale presents Dana Awartani’s May your tears never dry, you who weep over stones, curated by Antonia Carver with assistant curator Hafsa Alkhudairi.

Awartani’s most ambitious work to date engages with cultural heritage under threat. The artwork is the result of in-depth research into places of historical, material, and cultural significance across the Arab world that have been subjected to devastating damage in recent years through man-made conflict and violence.

The installation encompasses the entire floor of the pavilion, assembling mosaic references from across Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, whose shared motifs and traditions highlight common cultures spanning some three millennia. Without binding agents, the bricks crack as they dry, conveying the potential loss of shared histories.

The exhibition marks the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s fifth participation at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The Saudi Pavilion is commissioned by the Visual Arts Commission, one of eleven sector-specific commissions under the Ministry of Culture.

Images 1-4: Installation view of May your tears never dry, you who weep over stones., 2026 © Dana Awartani. Photo courtesy of the artist and the Visual Arts Commission, Commissioner of the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia

Image 5: Left to right: Hafsa Alkhudairi, Dana Awartani, Antonia Carver, Venice, 2025. Photography by Alvise Busetto. Image courtesy of the Ministry of Culture.