Ahmed Mater

Selected Essays

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Singing Without Music

Ahmed Mater for Art Asia Pacific

Art Education in Saudi Arabia

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Development of the Saudi Art Scene from 1960

Ahmed Mater for Sotheby's

Tracing the forces that shaped modern and contemporary practice in the kingdom

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A Manifesto for Saudi Art

Ahmed Mater for Art Asia Pacific

Reflects on the evolving contemporary art nexus of Saudi Arabia

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Soundless Space, Reflections on the Work of Sebastião Salgado

Ahmed Mater

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Affiliate Organisations

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Founded in 2025, the Ahmed Mater Foundation is a community platform, providing support to emerging local artists while bringing regional and international leaders in arts and culture to Abha, the capital of Asir.

Founded 1989 in Abha by the then Governor of Asir, HRH Prince Khaled bin Faisal Al-Saud as a cultural centre incorporating artists' studios, exhibition space, shops, a public theatre and a mosque.

Founded 2001 in Abha by Ahmed Mater, Ashraf Fayadh, Abdulnasser Gharem, Abdulkarim Qassem and Muhammad Khidr. This artist collective challenged existing modes of art practice in Saudi Arabia.

Founded March 2003 in Abha by Stephen Stapleton, Ahmed Mater and Abdulnasser Gharem as an artist-led platform for cultural exchange, diplomacy and production between the Arab and Western World.

Founded 2014 in Jeddah by Ahmed Mater as a community arts organisation aiming to awaken Saudi civil society to contemporary ways of thinking, innovation and sustainable cultural developmen

Selected Exhibitions

Ahmed Mater: Antenna

Islamic Arts Biennale

Ahmed Mater: Chronicles

Biennale d'Architecture d'Orléans: Years of Solitude

Ahmed Mater: Mecca Journeys

Mitochondria: Powerhouses

Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam

But a Storm is Blowing in From Paraside

Ahmed Mater at Vinyl Factory

Featured Publications

Prognosis / Saudi Arabia

Ahmed Mater: Chronicles

Desert of Pharan

Sculptures of Jeddah (English Edition)

Selected Artworks

Magnetism Book

Ashab Al-Lal I

Grey Eagle Sculpture

Antenna (White)

Yellow Cow Performance

Lightning Land

Golden Hour

Roadblock

Selected Essays

Singing Without Music

Development of the Saudi Art Scene from 1960

A Manifesto for Saudi Art

Soundless Space, Reflections on the Work of Sebastião Salgado

Affiliate Organisations