Jessica Cerasi is a curator based in Abu Dhabi, Istanbul and London. She was most recently Associate Curator for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. In this role, she co-curated Manal AlDowayan’s participatory event From Shattered Ruins, New Life Shall Bloom at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in May 2023. Over the years, Cerasi has gained extensive experience working with artists from Türkiye and the Arab Gulf region. She likewise possesses a breadth of biennale experience, having worked as Assistant Curator for the 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2019, and Assistant Curator for the Biennale of Sydney in 2016. She has previously worked as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the UK Government Art Collection, Exhibitions Manager at Carroll/Fletcher Gallery, and Curatorial Assistant at London’s Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre. With a strong interest in fostering contemporary art appreciation among new audiences, she conceived and taught a popular course on “Demystifying Contemporary Art” at Tate Modern (2017-2019), and has written two books on the subject. Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art (2017, co-authored with Kyung An) is a playful introduction to contemporary art at its most baffling, while Contemporary Art Decoded (2021) takes ten key questions about contemporary art and uses them to explore what you’re looking at, how it works, and why it matters. She holds an MA in Art History from University College London and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Courtauld Institute.
Maya El Khalil
Maya El Khalil is a curator based in Oxford, UK. Over two decades, she has collaborated with artists, collectors and institutions to shape transforming art scenes across the Gulf and Arab world. Her curatorial work foregrounds socially engaged exhibitions through partnerships with international foundations and museums. In 2022, she curated ADMAF’s Portrait of a Nation: Beyond Narratives, the first survey exhibition presenting 50 years of the UAE art scene, marking a significant contribution to the region’s art history. Since 2020, El Khalil’s research has examined environmental and climate challenges through multidisciplinary exhibitions. These include I Love You, Urgently, 21,39 Jeddah Art (2020); the digital platform Take Me to the River with Goethe Institut and Prince Claus Fund (2020–2021); Perceptible Rhythms/Alternative Temporalities at the Middle East Institute, Washington D.C. (2022), and In the Presence of Absence, the third edition of Desert X AlUla (2024). As founding director of Athr Gallery in Jeddah from 2009–2016, she pioneered new exhibition approaches and cultural exchange, helping establish Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene. She has been appointed to diverse panels, advisory boards, and juries. In 2023, she joined the International Advisory Board of Prince Claus Fund. El Khalil holds an MA Art and Politics (distinction) from Goldsmiths College, University of London, an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut.
Assistant curator
Shadin AlBulaihed
Shadin AlBulaihed is a curator based in Riyadh. She was the Assistant Curator for the 8th edition of the Saudi Art Council’s annual 21,39 Jeddah Arts exhibition in 2021, The Secrets of Alidades, curated by Fabien Danesi, and the 9th edition in 2022, Amakin, curated by Venetia Porter. AlBulaihed also served as the Production Manager for the AlUla Residency during the AlUla Arts Festival and completed a curator’s residency at The Delfina Foundation in London in 2022, besides being part of the production team in Noor Riyadh 2022. Currently, she is Assistant Curator at the Misk Art Institute, leading the Misk Art Grant program. She holds a BA in Architecture from the School of Design and Architecture from Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah (2017) and an MA in Museum and Gallery Studies from Kingston University in London (2020).
