D+D U.K.

2644 30th Street, Suite 100
Santa Monica
CA, 90405

D+D U.S.

6697 Prince Turki Ibn Abdulaziz Al Alawal
Hitten
Riyadh 13516
Saudi Arabia

D+D Saudi Arabia

P1‑106, Yas Creative Hub, Tower 3
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates, PO Box 769784

D+D UAE

World Expo

Working alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture, DDX produced a rich programme of exhibitions and residencies within the Saudi Pavilion at World Expo 2025, showcasing the breadth of Saudi creativity to a global audience. Among the highlights, the group exhibition Personal Narratives: Object & Emotion invited visitors to explore the power of memory and emotion embedded in everyday objects, asking what we hold onto and why.

The show featured five emerging Saudi artists: Hayfa Algwaiz, Asaad Badawi, Badr Ali, Joud Fahmy, and Bashaer Hawsawi, who showcased completed works exploring memory, emotion, and identity through absence, repetition and symbolism.

In the Cultural Arts Studio, Hayfa Algwaiz blended nostalgia and futurism in Depths of Field House; Asaad Badawi reimagined the ordinary through Discrete Cosmology, drawing on his background in medicine and philosophy; Badr Ali traced gratitude and human experience through gestural drawings transformed into printmaking and painting; and Joud Fahmy sculpted women’s stories through wool and spatial installation, exploring family dynamics and gender roles.

Bashaer Hawsawi was present in the Pavilion throughout the exhibition, creating new works in real time, engaging directly with visitors, and leading workshops. Her practice reflects on identity, ritual and cultural memory. In the Pavilion, Bashaer presented The Heart that Becomes a Garden from her Cleansing series, exploring repetition and ritual through broom arrangements. The work drew on her family’s Mutawwifin legacy as Hajj guides and childhood memories of Makkah, where her grandmother’s sweeping inspired her interest in cleansing as both a physical and spiritual practice. Fabrics for the work came from Jeddah’s al-Balad district, featuring wax-printed cottons sourced globally. Bashaer also gifted some pieces to visitors, creating an interactive and culturally immersive experience.

Through the curated interplay of exhibited works and live creation, Personal Narratives: Object & Emotion transformed the Pavilion into a contemplative space where visitors could reflect on the intimate connections between memory, emotion and the material world.

Personal Narratives: Object & Emotion at World Expo, 2025

On 13 April 2025, Expo 2025 officially opened its doors in Osaka, launching a six-month global showcase of innovation, collaboration, and cultural exchange.

Working alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture, DDX have produced a rich and diverse programme of residencies and immersive shows within the Saudi Pavilion. The evolving programme features artist residencies, exhibitions and live performances with a changing roster of Saudi talent creating new experiences across Expo’s six-month run.

Opening the programme, celebrated artist Muhannad Shono took up residence in the Pavilion’s Cultural  Visual Arts Studio - a dedicated gallery space transformed into a working studio. Titled The Pavilion of Imagination, Shono’s residency offered visitors an intimate, real-time experience of the artist’s creative process. Known for his minimalistic, black-and-white aesthetic that weaves together mythology and memory, Shono exhibited a selection of his sculptural works and drawings while developing a new commissioned artwork live throughout his time in Osaka.

Expanding the experience beyond the Visual Arts Studio, DDX curated and produced the Evolving Nightly Show - a nightly projection show displayed across the fragmented Courtyard walls at the heart of the Pavilion. The nightly shows include selections of artworks and soundcapes created within both Cultural Studios, changing each week as new work is produced as a celebration of Saudi Creativity. 

Over the course of Shono’s residency the Saudi Pavilion welcomed over 250,000 visitors, averaging 14,000 per day - a successful launch and incredible benchmark for the Pavilion’s ongoing engagement at Expo 2025.

Muhannad Shono at World Expo, 2025

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