Dana Awartani's Saudi Pavilion at Venice Biennale: A Fragile Hymn to Craft and Memory
At the 2026 Venice Biennale, Dana Awartani's installation 'May your tears never dry, you who weep over stones' occupies the Saudi Arabian Pavilion. The work comprises 29,221 sunbaked clay earth bricks assembled into mosaic patterns referencing sites across Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. It features floral and faunal motifs, arches, and fragments of ancient floors. Awartani credits 38 named artisans, including A. Assallumi, A. Shishu, and A.K. Hamidarahman. Curator Antonia Carver noted that digital tools may become less accurate than the artisans' hands. The installation resists easy consumption, emphasizing slowness and materiality. It critiques the soft power machinery of national pavilions while insisting on repair as duration. The work is not nostalgic but positions craft as a knowledge system. Awartani asks viewers to understand why people weep over stones, insisting that memory has a body and history has texture.
Key facts
- Dana Awartani's installation at the Saudi Arabian Pavilion in Venice features 29,221 sunbaked clay earth bricks.
- The work references mosaic patterns from sites in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.
- 38 artisans are credited by name, including A. Assallumi, A. Shishu, and A.K. Hamidarahman.
- Curator Antonia Carver stated that digital tools may become less accurate than artisans.
- The installation includes floral and faunal motifs, arches, and fragments of ancient floors.
- The work critiques the soft power machinery of national pavilions.
- Awartani insists on repair as duration and craft as a knowledge system.
- The installation is at the Venice Biennale in 2026.
Entities
Artists
- Dana Awartani
- Adilson De Oliveira
- A. Assallumi
- A. Shishu
- A.K. Hamidarahman
- A. Rahman
- A.M. Muhammad Uthman
- A. Hussein
- A. Nawaz
- A. Safaddin
- F.A. Assallumi
- G.R. Jan Zeb Khan
- H. Intajar
- H.U. Muhammad Hayet
- I.K. Sherzamin Khan
- I. Maula
- I. Hussein
- I.M. Qimit Shah
- J. Tantau
- K.U. Hamidarahman
- K.F. Wahid
- K.M. Sultan Muhammad
- K.B. Nasib Gul
- M.A. Younis
- M. Faisal
- M. Faheem
- M. Salim
- M. Safaddin
- M.S. Alislam
- M.W. Alabbadi
- N. Aslam
- N. Zada Baz Gul
- P.R. Jehan Zeb
- S. Adnan
- S. Amin Khan
- S.M. Amin Rahman
- S.K. Sar Gul
- Abu Nawas
Institutions
- Saudi Arabian Pavilion
- Visual Arts Commission
- ART AFRICA
- ART AFRICA Foundation
- The Magolide Collective
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
- Prince's School of Traditional Arts
- Visual Arts Commission, Ministry of Culture
- Venice Biennale
- Ministry of Culture
- UNESCO
- World Monuments Fund
- Aliph Foundation
- Visual Arts Commission, Saudi Arabia
- La Biennale di Venezia
- designboom
- Saudi Arabia Pavilion
- Saudi Ministry of Culture
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Palestine
- Johannesburg
- South Africa
- Arsenale
- Saudi Arabia
- Tunisia
- Libya
- Iraq
- Egypt
- Yemen
- London
- United Kingdom
- Riyadh
- Mesopotamia
- Middle East
- Jordan
- Gaza
- Europe