Donia Alshetairy explores time and perception in Jeddah solo show

Welcome to AL-MONITOR Riyadh.

As the holy month of Ramadan dawns, we highlight several key exhibitions by Saudi artists. Donia Alsheitary’s exhibition in Al-Balad, Jeddah, is staged by Hafez Gallery, while Sara Abu Abdallah’s show at ATHR Gallery in Riyadh explores the idea of being present in daily life and how modern awareness has been shaped by technology and the accelerating pace of time. Abdallah suggests that staying present is guided by quiet acceptance, even when clarity is absent. Elsewhere, we cover a design exhibition in AlUla, as well as Ramadan festivities at At-Turaif, the historic seat of the first Saudi state in Diriyah, Riyadh.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Riyadh's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: ‘Suspended Presence’ by Donia Alshetairy

Donia Alshetairy. “Bodies Aligned with Their Own Illusion.” 2025. Hand-shaped rubber tubes, silicone and wires on wood panel. (Photo courtesy of the artist and Hafez Gallery)

Saudi visual artist Donia Alshetairy’s solo exhibition, “Suspended Presence,” is presented at Al Fallah School, Hafez Gallery’s new space in the historic Al-Balad district of Jeddah. The show features a range of mixed-media works exploring art as a field where logic and intuition continually intersect. Dismantling epistemic, perceptual and temporal structures, her practice examines how meaning is constructed, regulated and quietly destabilized within contemporary systems. In “Suspended Presence,” Alshetairy turns this exploration inward, reflecting on how modern human awareness has been shaped by acceleration, mediation and nonlinear time.

“Time accelerates, attention fragments, and emotion is increasingly shaped by systems designed to optimize response rather than experience,” Alshetairy writes of the works in “Suspended Presence.” “Everything moves forward, yet something inside us hesitates.”

On display is a series of installations and abstract wall works that construct environments where vibration, rhythm, silence and distortion function as tools to render the intangible perceptible. She incorporates materials such as hand‐shaped rubber tubes, PVC pipes, wires and light, arranging them into dense linear fields, spirals and circular forms that seem to hold time in suspension.

Notable works include “A Circle That Forgets at the Moment of Its Completion” and “Repetition Intending to Flee,” which highlight moments of indecision, repetition and change as principal narrative elements. In “One Mistake Is Not Enough,” slight errors and tremors reflect a culture striving to erase imperfection.

Ultimately, “Suspended Presence” asks what it means to inhabit the present moment when presence itself feels increasingly fragile.

Date: Feb. 24 - April 1

Location: Al Balad, Jeddah

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Samia’s Dish

A delicious Hijazi rice dish at Samia’s Dish, Jeddah. (Photo courtesy of Mohammed Yahya and Samia’s Dish)

If you’re craving heartening, home-cooked Saudi cuisine in a cozy, family-style ambiance, Samia’s Dish in Jeddah — a recently Michelin-approved restaurant — offers flavorful Hijazi dishes in a relaxed atmosphere. Nestled along a busy street of shops, the restaurant is known for its honey-topped meat brik and other traditional Saudi specialties such as kabsa, jareesh, muttabaq, hareesh and more. Samia herself is often in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. If you’re lucky, you will spot her.

Location: Ahmad Al Attas, Al Zahra, Jeddah

Find more information here.

3. Riyadh diary

Sara Abu Abdallah. Detail from “The Last Blue.” 2026. Five panels, mixed media on canvas. (Photo courtesy of the artist and ATHR Gallery)

• ‘I Stay in Pieces’ by Sara Abu Abdallah

Curated by Alaa Tarabzouni, “I Stay in Pieces” presents Saudi artist Sarah Abu Abdallah’s courageous exploration of the fragile momentum of daily life. In this new body of work, Abu Abdullah incorporates diverse materials and gestures that have long shaped her visual language, approaching them with a softened sense of urgency that allows repetition of forms and narratives to serve as a method for meaning. Each work eloquently mirrors the next through familiar materials, motifs and forms that repeat —  but never in identical visual form or manner.

Date: until May 15

Location: ATHR Gallery, Jax District, Riyadh

Find more information here.

• ‘Material Witness: Celebrating Design from Within’

This exhibition explores design as a creative practice shaped by climate, craft, landscape and experience rather than merely an aesthetic expression. Taking place as part of the fifth edition of the AlUla Arts Festival, the exhibition, curated by Dominique Petit-Frère, founder of Accra-based Limbo Accra and Saudi designer Majedah Alduligan, with artistic direction by Ali Alghazzawi and French curator Arnaud Morand, the exhibition stages the work of regional and international designers in unison all grounded in material research and contemporary innovation.

Date: until Feb. 28

Location: Design Space AlUla, AlJadidah Arts District

Find more information here. 

• Ramadan experiences at At-Turaif

At-Turaif, the historic birthplace of the Saudi state, will host a vibrant array of cultural festivities during the holy month of Ramadan, blending heritage with evening events. Activities include cultural dialogues, traditional shopping experiences at Souq Al Mawsim, Saudi coffee workshops and light shows projected onto Salwa Palace. Each day visitors can also enjoy curated iftar experiences from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Date: throughout Ramadan

Location: At-Turaif, Diriyah, Riyadh

Find more information here.

4. Book of the week: ‘Guardians of the Gulf: Navigating Security Challenges’

This book, edited by Gregory John Simons and Khaled Al-Kassimi, examines the Gulf Cooperation Council’s strategic shift to indigenous defense production, moving away from its previous reliance on arms imports. The shift toward domestic defense capabilities signals a new regional order — one less dependent on foreign aid. The book explores how this transition impacts regional security and economic development, analyzing the intersection of technology, geopolitics and energy security, as well as the Gulf’s capacity to adapt to complex modern threats.

5. View from Riyadh

Abdullah Aldawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company, delivers a speech announcing the official start of construction of the Performing Arts Center in Qiddiya City, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Qiddiya Investment Company)

On Feb. 16, Abdullah Aldawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company, announced the official start of construction of the Performing Arts Center in Qiddiya City. The ceremony was held at the project site perched on the edge of the Tuwaiq Mountains, directly west and northwest of Riyadh, often referred to as the “Edge of the World.” Qiddiya is a premier giga-project near Riyadh, valued at over $40 billion and designed to serve as the kingdom's hub for entertainment, sports and the arts under Vision 2030.

6. By the numbers

• The Qiddiyah Performing Arts Center is expected to host over 200 indoor and outdoor performances and events every year.
• It will have 3,000 seats across three venues.
• In October 2025, Agbi reported that the Qiddiya Investment Company had awarded a SAR 5.3 billion ($1.4 billion) contract for the construction of the center.