Beginning September 12, the walls of the historic Abbazia building in Dorsoduro 172 will glow with new perspectives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry of Culture unveils In A New Light: Contemporary Photography from Saudi Arabia, a striking exhibition running through October 10, 2025.
Part of “The Saudi Ministry of Culture in Abbazia”, a cultural initiative highlighting the Kingdom’s artistic vitality, the exhibition is curated by Mohamed Somji and presents fifty photographic works drawn from past editions of the Kingdom Photography Award.
Launched in 2022 by the Saudi Visual Arts Commission, the Award was created to engage professional artists while nurturing a new generation of photographers. Today, it stands as one of the region’s most exciting platforms for creative expression, with more than 2,000 submissions to date from Saudi Arabia and far beyond — Argentina, Egypt, Morocco, the Philippines, Yemen, the U.K., the U.S., and more.
This year’s Venice showcase is a celebration of that vision: landscapes that stretch across deserts and mountains, human stories layered in identity and memory, and a reminder that Saudi Arabia is not a monolith but a place of movement, rhythm, and transformation.
“Exhibiting works from the Kingdom Photography Award at the Abbazia building is a wonderful opportunity to showcase photography from Saudi Arabia to international audiences,” says Dina Amin, CEO of the Saudi Visual Arts Commission. “The exhibition not only seeks to highlight the Kingdom’s profound depth — reflected in its people, culture, heritage, and diverse landscapes — but also aspires to present, on the global stage of Venice, the distinctive vision of these selected photographers, in a city celebrated for its enduring and profound dialogue with the arts.”
The Kingdom Photography Award works on two tracks: commissioned projects by local and international practitioners that dive deeply into the Kingdom’s diverse narratives, and an open call that has created a thriving community of artists experimenting with what photography can be.
With Venice as its backdrop — a city that itself lives and breathes art history — In A New Light creates a dialogue across borders and time, where Saudi contemporary photography takes its place in the continuum of global visual storytelling.
Exhibition Details:
📍 Abbey of San Gregorio, Abbazia building, Dorsoduro 172, Venice
📅 September 12 – October 10, 2025
🕚 Daily 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
💜 Free Admission
This isn’t just an exhibition. It’s an invitation to see Saudi Arabia — and photography itself — in a new light.