in the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, opens to the public
Milan, Italy, May 14, 2025 –The inaugural Saudi Pavilion at the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, titled Maghras, A Farm for Experimentation, opened to the public on May 13, 2025. Curated by Lulu Almana and Sara Al Omran with Alejandro Stein as Creative Director, the exhibition examines the transformation of the landscape of Al Ahsa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to one of the largest oases in the world. Named for the measuring unit that describes the space delineated by four palm trees, the exhibition employs a combination of artistic interventions, research, and programming to investigate the entanglements and intimate connections between land, labor, and memory in Al Ahsa.
Maghras features findings developed during a year-long working program in Al Ahsa where cultural practitioners, architects, researchers, and community members were invited to analyze and respond to the evolution of the oasis’ landscape and the ways it shapes the region’s ecological and cultural narratives. The resulting pavilion in Milan presents learnings from this extended intervention, including three new commissions: a work by Leen Ajlan, an architectural designer from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, working at the intersection of spatial design, cultural narratives, and material experimentation. Ajlan’s piece in Milan, composed entirely of farming byproduct waste, interrogates the expansion of agrarian monoculture and the impact of artificial fertilizers; a multimedia film installation by Mohammed Alfaraj, a visual artist from Al Ahsa. With his installation, Alfaraj re-imagines the local folk tale of a village landmark; and a sonic essay by Sawtasura, a socially engaged research platform dedicated to non-tangible heritage and art forms in the Arab Gulf and wider region. The work draws from recordings and conversations centered around women’s oral histories and sonic memory as forms of environmental knowledge.
Al Ahsa’s character is made up of a distinctive hybrid of urban and rural identities, defying conventional categorizations as purely urban or entirely rural. A cornerstone of early agricultural development, it was envisioned as the country’s “breadbasket” during the 1960s. The agricultural landscape has since undergone transformations that mirror global shifts in rural agroecosystems, unsettling its delicate natural ecosystem and the synergy between its distinctive urban-rural composition. Maghras, in response, expands the discourse revolving around urban sprawl, the depletion of groundwater, and desertification to reveal an interplay between inherited practices and modernization, ultimately prompting a deeper reflection on Al Ahsa’s evolving cultural and ecological narratives.
Curators Lulu Almana and Sara Al Omran said, “Maghras is a veneration of the people, cultural rituals, and lived experiences that make up Al Ahsa. By approaching the history and transformation of this landscape through the lenses of art, research, and local memory, we aim to place a new emphasis on the need for collective reflection and care in envisioning the future of its local communities. We are honored to share our findings with Maghras, a tangible exploration of our interconnectedness with the land and with each other that we hope will ripple outwards beyond Milan and Al Ahsa’s boundaries.”
Lulu Almana is a landscape architect based in Saudi Arabia specializing in urban regeneration and ecological restoration. Having worked in London, Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi, she brings a global-local perspective to her work. She served as an advisor to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing from 2022–23, focusing on Saudi Arabia’s community parks strategy. At Arup, she led the development of the Urban Transformation Manual launched by the Saudi Architecture and Design Commission in 2024—a comprehensive initiative dedicated to regenerating public spaces. She continues to serve as a jury member for national design awards in the Kingdom. She studied at the American University of Sharjah and Columbia University in New York. In 2024, she co-founded Maghras with Sara Al Omran, a farm and community space in Al Ahsa.
Sara Al Omran is a strategy advisor to art institutions in Saudi Arabia and the region. Her work has been dedicated to building art institutions and nurturing creative communities. She formerly served as the Deputy Director at Art Jameel, where she led the launch and development of Hayy Jameel, a multidisciplinary arts complex with a particular mandate to support artists through residencies, commissions, and bespoke learning programs. Prior to working at Art Jameel, Sara worked as a management consultant with Monitor Group and the Boston Consulting Group, focusing on education and social impact projects. She is the co-founder of Maghras, a farm and community space in Al Ahsa launched in 2024 with Lulu Almana.
Alejandro Stein is an architect and creative director who specializes in exhibitions and museological environments. His core interest is in creating holistic experiences structured by the integration of art, architecture, and design. Along with Frank J Mondragón, Alejandro is a founding partner of world, an architecture and design studio focused on exhibitions and publications. He is also the Director of Exhibition Design at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and previously worked as Senior Exhibition Designer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he designed several major exhibitions and contributed to the redesign of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. Alejandro holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University.
Leen Ajlan is an architectural designer from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, whose work navigates the intersection of spatial design, cultural narratives, and material experimentation. Rooted in a deep engagement with Arab heritage, her practice explores the ways in which architecture can facilitate communal interactions, revive traditional craftsmanship, and support ecological regeneration. Leen holds an MA in Architecture from the Royal College of Art in London, where she is currently based. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Milan Design Week, AlUla Design Festival, Paris Design Week, and the Venice Biennale. Through a multidisciplinary approach, she continues to investigate the evolving role of architecture in shaping sensory, cultural, and ecological landscapes.
Sawtasura is a socially engaged research platform dedicated to non-tangible heritage and art forms in the Arab Gulf and wider region. The platform was founded in 2020 by Tara Al Dughaither (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), an independent arts curator, artist, and cultural producer focusing on process-based methods of embodied learning and expression. Al Dughaither holds a Master’s in Culture Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martin’s London (2013) and has worked across private and government sectors as well as grassroots initiatives.
Mohammed Alfaraj is a visual artist that works in film, photography, sculpture and poetry, influenced by his hometown and his travels. Alfaraj attempts to capture the imprint and impact of life both literally and metaphorically. Having studied engineering and growing up loving the camera in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, Alfaraj’s work can be described as a cinematic collage of mediums, practices and ideas. With his artwork and projects, Alfaraj aims to create a world charged with stories, poetry and the search for truth via exploration, documentation and interpretation, resulting in works that the artist hopes will nurture imagination and empathy. His use and reuse of organic and manmade waste work as a physical capsule of memories and time, with these materials and their histories holding a spiritual quality. Alfaraj also engages in workshops and action-based activities with the community as a believer in collective creativity.
About the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition
The 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, titled Inequalities (May 13 – November 9, 2025), is dedicated to the issue of the growing inequalities that characterize cities and the contemporary world. Through a series of exhibitions, special projects and public program events, the International Exhibition questions the global challenges related to the differences present in various spheres of existence: from economic to ethnic, from geographic origin to gender. Personalities from the world of art, design, architecture, collectives, cultural institutions, museums and research institutes from around the world are called upon to reflect on the theme with the aim of mapping inequalities and identifying the most advanced political projects for a society in which differences are a resource and a value to be recomposed into new forms of community.
About the Architecture and Design Commission
The Architecture and Design Commission, established in 2020, is one of eleven commissions under the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia, representing key disciplines including architecture, urban design and planning, landscape architecture, interior design, graphic design, and industrial design. The Commission supports and encourages practitioners, organizes exhibitions and seminars, and stimulates thinking in the sector to build an architecture and design landscape that mirrors the Kingdom’s rich and diverse culture.
Aligned with the objectives of the Ministry of Culture and Vision 2030, the Architecture and Design Commission promotes excellence in architecture and design, reflects Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity and ambitions, empowers local talent, and enhances the quality of life within communities.
About the Ministry of Culture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has a vast history of arts and culture. The Ministry of Culture is developing Saudi Arabia’s cultural economy and enriching the daily lives of citizens, residents, and visitors. Overseeing eleven sector-specific commissions, the Ministry is leading a cultural transformation to develop an abundant ecosystem that nurtures creativity, unlocks the economic potential of the sector, and unleashes new and inspiring forms of expression.
