Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year Comes Alive in Riyadh with When the Wind Turns East
The close of 2025 saw a landmark artistic event take root in the heart of Riyadh. From December 24th to January 6th, Malfa Hall became a vibrant crossroads of creativity, hosting the exhibition When the Wind Turns East. This was more than a simple art show; it was a living, breathing centerpiece of the Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year, celebrating 35 years of diplomatic fellowship between the two nations.
Curated by the Sigg Art Foundation in collaboration with Jérôme Sans, the exhibition brought together a powerful dialogue between more than 60 contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia and China. By weaving together significant works from the renowned Uli Sigg Collection of Chinese art and the Pierre Sigg Collection of Saudi art, the display created a rare and meaningful conversation across continents.
Three Themes, One Conversation
The exhibition was thoughtfully structured into three thematic sections, each designed to explore shared human questions through distinct cultural lenses:
- When the Desert Meets the Sea of Memory: This section delved into how heritage, geography, and collective memory shape artistic identity. It presented these elements not as frozen history, but as living, shifting sands of experience.
- Woven Between Light and Earth: Here, the focus turned to the spiritual and the material, examining how artists navigate the space between earthly substance and transcendent light.
- Ancestral Resonance in Modern Form: This segment investigated the powerful ways in which traditional aesthetics and ancient wisdom inform and transform contemporary artistic expression.
Spotlight on the Art
The strength of the exhibition lay in the individual voices it harmonized. Each piece told a story of its origin while speaking to universal themes.
- Nabila Abuljadayel’s ‘The Kiswa: Threads of Faith’ (2021) offered a profound meditation on heritage. This digital image woven on cotton, featured in the first section, exemplifies her practice of merging historical narrative with modern technique to reflect on collective identity and faith.
- From China, Xue Feng’s oil painting ‘Domains’ (2018) presented an abstracted landscape. His work transcends simple representation, pulling from nature and personal reflection to create immersive spaces on canvas that invite viewers into a dialogue between materiality and spirit.
- Rashed AlShashai’s illuminating piece, ‘Brand 5’ (2019), used the form of a stained-glass lightbox to critique global consumer culture. Part of his “Brand” series, it prompts contemplation on how modern systems filter human relationships, all while emphasizing spiritual connection and conscious thought.
- Gao Weigang’s painting ‘Mountainside’ (2007) stood out for its subtle rebellion. Known for sculpture, Gao blurred the very boundary between painting and frame in this work, a playful and thoughtful exploration of perception and the limits of form.
- Lulwah Al-Homoud’s ‘Al Qudous’ (2024) is a stunning example of ancestral resonance. From her series “The Language of Existence,” it re-imagines Arabic script through precise, spiritual geometry. As she has explained, it creates a new language that cannot be read traditionally, but must be felt—a meeting point of art, science, and deep cultural history.
More Than an Exhibition
When the Wind Turns East succeeded as a true cultural bridge. It moved beyond political and geographic distinctions to reveal the shared creative pulse between Saudi and Chinese artists. In examining landscape, memory, material, and spirit, the exhibition showed that while the desert and the sea may differ in substance, they are mirrors in the human spirit’s capacity for expression.
This event, part of the broader Common Ground Festival organized by the Ministry of Culture, set a powerful tone for the Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year. It proved that dialogue through art can build understanding that resonates far deeper than words, laying down a vibrant, living layer of connection for the next 35 years of shared history.
Also Read:
Jazan Festival Transforms the Waterfront with Art and Culture
Minzal Celebrates Saudi Heritage Through Culture and Experiences in Diriyah
