Biennale di Venezia 2026
Pavilion: Saudi Arabia | Artist: Dana Awartani | Curator: Antonia Carver
Title: May your tears never dry, you who weep over stones
2026.10.05
Three millennia worth of labor,
Human creativity at it best,
Craft turned to art,
Love turned to beauty,
Pride of a nation.
Substance of the earth,
Natural,
Gift of nature,
Formed by man,
Perfect collaboration.
Fragility of life,
Represented by humanity’s toil,
Shown for all to notice,
And never forget,
The beauty that humanity is capable of.
Preservation against erasure,
Control and authority,
The effects of the few,
Prejudice, power, wealth, and hate,
Detached from nature.
Tragedy of war,
Crossing imaginary borders,
Ignoring our essence,
Destruction of our souls,
And all for what?
Patterned, colorful bricks,
Handmade possibilities,
Riches from the past,
Carefully restored for the future,
Poetic affirmation of what should be.
Named here to highlight their histories,
Lest they disappear by mankind’s own hand,
Syriac church, Manbij, Aleppo
Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, Dayr Sim'an, Aleppo
Mar Zakka Monastery, Raqqa
Raqqa Museum, Raqga
Ma'arat AlNuman Museum, Murad Pasha Caravansary, Idlib
Apamea Synagogue, Qal’at, AlMudiq, Hama
Apamea Citadel, Qal'at AlMudiq, Hama
Church of the Holy Martyrs, Taybat Allmam, Hama
Rastan archaeological site, Homs
Emir Bashir Il Palace, Beiteddine
AlBass Necropolis, Tyre
Synagogue of Severus, Hamat Tiberias
Bosra Citadel, Bosra AlSham, Dar’a
Church of Gethsemane (Church of All Nations), Jerusalem
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Monastery of the Cross, Jerusalem
Mar Saba Monastery, Bethlehem
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
Khirbet Midras archaeological site, Jerusalem
Bayt Jibrin archaeological site, Hebron
Ibrahimi Mosque, Hebron
Saint Hilarion Monastery, Nuseirat, Gaza
Bureij mosaic, Gaza
Crossing cultures,
Across millennia,
History of mankind,
Creativity and beauty,
All are humanity.
by John C. Clements
ThinkArtMagazine.com
In association with Arroscia Residency
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