Cultural Venues Operations Archives

With Rooted Transience, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation presents its first international exhibition in Venice as part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia 2025. Hosted at the historic Abbey of San Gregorio, the project extends a journey that began in Saudi Arabia, establishing a space for cultural exchange and dialogue between tradition and innovation within a uniquely Venetian context.Curated by Faysal Tabbarah, Rooted Transience explores the relationship between rootedness and transformation through the architectural typology of the musalla a space for prayer and contemplation characterized by adaptability and temporality. The exhibition brings together full-scale installations, models, and digital content from the AlMusalla Prize 2025, including the winning project On Weaving Al Musalla by EAST Architecture Studio alongside works by the shortlisted finalists, offering a multifaceted reflection on contemporary Islamic architecture.

At the heart of the exhibition stands a faithfully reproduced architectural fragment of On Weaving, fabricated in Jeddah specifically for the Venice presentation. Constructed using reclaimed date palm wood and traditional natural fiber weaving techniques, the fragment translates the material, structural, and symbolic qualities of the musalla into a form suited to the historic setting of the Abbey. Installed in the cloister, it acts as a tangible mediator between Saudi architectural heritage and Venice’s layered architectural memory.

The exhibition journey opens with the AlMusalla Prize Room, introducing the origins of the Prize and the cultural context from which it emerged. Through archival materials, narratives, and contextual references, the room traces the inception of Al Musalla as an architectural initiative rooted in adaptability, spirituality, and contemporary design, originally situated at the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah.

The second room presents the four shortlisted projects from the AlMusalla Prize competition. Displayed through scale models, the projects explore diverse interpretations of the musalla typology, addressing themes of light, geometry, materiality, and spatial perception. Together, the models reflect a plurality of architectural approaches, highlighting how a temporary space of prayer can generate varied and culturally resonant forms.

The path then leads to the central model room, where a complete scale reconstruction of Al Musalla reveals the geometry and structure of the winning project. Displayed in its entirety, the model highlights the architectural logic behind On Weaving and serves as the exhibition’s core physical counterpart to the full-scale fragment installed in the Abbey’s cloister.

The exhibition concludes with the VR Room, offering an immersive digital experience that transports visitors inside Al Musalla. Through virtual reality, guests can explore the architecture from within, perceiving scale, light, and spatial continuity, and completing the exhibition journey by bridging physical presence with digital interpretation.

The reproduced fragment of Al Musalla was produced in Saudi Arabia and carefully transported to Venice through a controlled international process. From fabrication to on-site delivery, each phase was managed to ensure quality, safety, and full compatibility with the historic context of San Gregorio Abbey.

Once on site, the fragment was installed through a custom-designed structural solution, ensuring stability and full protection of the historic setting. The installation was completed with a calibrated lighting setup that enhanced the material qualities and spatial presence of the work, guaranteeing visual clarity and safety throughout the Biennale.

The public program

BLΛCK conceived, curated, and delivered every aspect of the Public Program, from the exhibition layouts and technical direction to the development of a dedicated brand identity for each activation. The team also produced a cross-channel communication strategy, managing social media content and a city-wide MUPI campaign across key Venetian touchpoints including Santa Lucia station, vaporetto routes, and the airport ensuring strong on-site visibility and sustained public engagement. Over seven months, the program welcomed more than 85,000 visitors, confirming the Abbey as a vibrant platform for cultural exchange throughout the Biennale.

Saudi short movies

A curated program of Saudi short films presented in collaboration with the Saudi Film Commission. Screenings were accompanied by panels and live Q&A sessions with filmmakers, positioning cinema as a tool for cultural dialogue.

Pop-Up Store KAF BY KAF x adidas

A limited-edition retail activation developed in collaboration with the Fashion Commission, showcasing the partnership between Saudi label KAF BY KAF and adidas. The pop-up highlighted Saudi creativity through contemporary fashion, storytelling, and spatial design.

Threads of Identity: Saudi House of Fashion

The exhibition curated with the Fashion Commission, explored Saudi fashion through heritage and innovation. Garments and jewelry from the Saudi 100 Brands initiative were presented as expressions of identity and contemporary craftsmanship.

Kingdom Photography Award “In A New Light”

A photography exhibition presented in collaboration with the Visual Arts Commission, showcasing contemporary perspectives on Saudi Arabia through selected works from the Kingdom Photography Award. Public engagement activities fostered visual exchange and dialogue by an activation called “photo walk”

Flavors Without Borders

Two day culinary experience developed with Slow Food and the Culinary arts Commission, where chef Taleen Miliani chef and Chiara Pavan co created a shared tasting menu, blending two culinary culture to create a space for dialogue around culture, sustainability, and creativity.

A Fusion of Saudi & Venetian Sound Landscape

A site-specific sound installation developed in collaboration with the Music Commission, weaving traditional Saudi instruments with Venetian soundscapes. The immersive experience invited visitors into a contemplative journey, where sound guided the discovery of shared cultural resonances.

Year of Handicrafts,WRTH,Heritage commission

An installation developed in collaboration with the Heritage Commission, celebrating Saudi craftsmanship through materials, objects, and regional traditions. The project highlighted traditional techniques and artisanal knowledge as living cultural practices.

Lines That Unite: Arabic Calligraphy in Space

An exhibition presented with the Heritage Commission, exploring Arabic calligraphy as a spatial and living art form. Performances and workshops invited visitors to engage directly with calligraphy as cultural expression.

Gift Shop

The exhibition gift shop was designed as a curated extension of the show, blending contemporary design with Saudi cultural identity. Custom displays and furnishings enhance the products and echo the exhibition’s visual language. Saudi handcrafted items are presented with concise storytelling and refined packaging, highlighting their origin, technique, and meaning. The space functions as both retail and cultural experience, making Saudi heritage accessible, memorable, and high-quality.

Together, the ground-floor exhibition and the first-floor activations shaped a single, continuous experience within San Gregorio Abbey. Architectural research, material heritage, and contemporary creative practices converged into a shared narrative — one that invited visitors to move between physical fragments, digital immersion, and live cultural exchange, expanding the meaning of the musalla beyond its original context.

Through the realization of Rooted Transience and the production of the Public Program, BLΛCK helped transform the Abbey into a landmark platform for international dialogue during the Biennale. The project stands as a lasting example of how historic venues can be reactivated through design and cultural programming, creating new bridges between Saudi Arabia and Venice while leaving a legacy of collaboration, visibility, and shared knowledge.

Bukhara Biennale 2025, titled Recipes for Broken Hearts, brings to the city a distributed exhibition program involving artists, curators, artisans, and institutions from across the world. Within this international framework, BLΛCK contributes to the Biennale’s organizational and production structure, supporting both operational delivery and the technical realization of artistic projects.

BLΛCK is engaged in technical and organizational supervision for venue operations, protocol, and guest experience, working alongside the Biennale teams to develop coordinated processes, practical tools, and operational guidelines. This scope also includes methodological support and on-site training of the resources involved, ensuring consistent execution throughout all phases of the event.

In parallel, BLΛCK manages the logistics for invited Biennale guests, coordinating transfers, hospitality, and dedicated communications. This activity requires handling complex international flows and maintaining constant interaction with partner institutions, cultural delegations, and official program stakeholders, with a focus on experience quality and operational risk mitigation.

A further area of involvement concerns the technical production of fifteen commissioned works for the Biennale. BLΛCK supports artists and curators in technical assessment, executive documentation, and production coordination through testing and commissioning, ensuring full alignment with curatorial intent, artistic specifications, and the conditions of the different exhibition sites.

The operational scope also includes production management for the installation of Al Musalla, presented in Bukhara as part of a project promoted by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Overall, BLΛCK’s participation confirms its ability to operate within complex international cultural contexts, integrating planning, coordination, and technical expertise to enable the delivery of contemporary art at scale.

With its deep knowledge of AlUla, BLΛCK has been involved in several worldwide activations to promote and launch the vision. Exhibitions and experiences have been designed and produced across various contexts.

The starting point it’s a story to tell, a stunning idea which make people dreaming. And this was our first approach on Maraya project. Starting from the analysis of the context, the environment, the culture of the site we kept the AlUla Genius loci and we started to apply our vision: nothing has to be added there.

Based on the client request, the first Maraya was conceived as a temporary venue to host the first Winter at Tantora Festival. BLΛCK was engaged for the full visioning, management, design and build up of the venue.

We activated the venue with the Groundbreaking ceremony for the AlUla project, in the presence of HRH, with a 25 minutes show entirely design and produced by BLΛCK.

The full Winter at Tantora season has been managed by BLΛCK, including stage design and build up, concerts production, artist liaison and contents production.

Our mission was based on figuring out how we could build in such a beautiful and meaningful place and we wondered how to establish a relationship between the construct and the existing in the most respectful way possible. Maraya has a unique and unseen stage set up: a great 40m x 15 m stage, with a giant retractable window of over 800 square meters that opens up to the surrounding nature, allowing shows to take place directly on the desert level where mass-coreo can perform in a unique in-and-outdoor scenario, blending landscape and entertainment.

Complete with all state of the art facilities, the Maraya Concert Hall  can host international productions from opera to ballets, shows and concerts.

BLΛCK managed the executive production of the exhibition design and the adaptation of the Abbazia di San Gregorio venues. The team coordinated the transformation of a historic residence into an exhibition space compliant with the museum standards required for hosting and conserving artworks from major international institutions. Through its project management activities, BLΛCK coordinated the dialogue between the curatorial team, designers, and suppliers, overseeing all phases of development, production, and installation. The intervention included a technical and systems upgrade program covering HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), lighting, security, and environmental monitoring systems, as well as the infrastructure necessary for the proper functioning of the exhibition spaces. Operating within a historic building subject to strict architectural and conservation constraints, BLΛCK managed the adaptation and exhibition setup interventions, ensuring full respect for the site’s original features and compliance with the museum, operational, and conservation requirements of the project.

The exhibition explores the theme of cartography as a tool for cultural representation and interpretation of the world, creating a dialogue between historical maps and contemporary artworks from international institutions and collections. BLΛCK coordinated the entire loan management process, handling the logistics, insurance, and conservation aspects related to the transport and display of the artworks. Concurrently, BLΛCK supported the artists and their teams in producing site-specific installations and multimedia works, coordinating their executive production while ensuring compliance with the defined technical, curatorial, and conservation requirements.

BLΛCK managed the public launch of the exhibition by coordinating the communication, promotion, and institutional relations activities linked to the opening event, contributing to the positioning of the initiative within the context of the Venice Biennale. Concurrently, BLΛCK organized and supervised all operational activities related to the exhibition’s opening and the subsequent daily management of the venues, coordinating reception, security, visitor management, and public support services. Through constant operational oversight and the management of dedicated staff, BLΛCK ensured high service standards for visitors, institutional stakeholders, and international guests throughout the entire exhibition period.

The project represents a model of integrated management for a complex international cultural initiative, in which BLΛCK acted as the sole manager responsible for the strategic, technical, and operational coordination throughout the entire lifecycle of the exhibition. From initial planning to managing client relations, from curatorial coordination to exhibition design and installation, from loan and artwork management to communication activities, through to daily operations and visitor management, BLΛCK ensured complete oversight of all project components. This approach guaranteed decisional consistency, operational control, and execution quality across all phases of the exhibition’s development and management.

The experience design was conceived and developed with particular reference to the Turin photography museum and the Naples museum, aiming to offer maximum engagement for visitors, enhanced by the wide range of technologies installed. The result is an interactive, digital, and rewarding user experience, studied in every detail to improve the visitor journey and allow effective data collection.

The Archivio Vivo installation in Turin, for example, allows the public to view the photographic archive owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the most important and complete in Italy, select and download up to 10 high-resolution photographs onto their smartphone, thanks to the dedicated app.

In the Museum of Photography in Turin, the experience design of Gallerie d’Italia was developed considering technological advancements, such as LED screens, projectors, interactive installations, audio and lighting systems. These elements create a flexible and adaptable environment, ideal for both temporary exhibitions of renowned international photographers and for the over 100 events planned each year.
In the Turin Museum, for example, BLΛCK created a multimedia mirror installation on the first floor, designed to respect the baroque grandeur of the hall’s architecture. This installation can transform into a large screen for press conferences and events and can be moved as needed. BLΛCK also manages the execution of the events and guarantees the ongoing maintenance of the installed technologies across all the locations involved.

At Gallerie d’Italia, Turin, BLΛCK designed and created an immersive video room located three floors underground: a 600-square-meter space equipped with 16 high-quality projectors for full-height wall projections and an advanced audio system. This setup enables digital exhibitions and unique, engaging events.

BLΛCK designed, developed, and created a mobile app that allows visitors to all four Gallerie d’Italia locations to enhance their museum experience with in-depth video, audio, and textual content. The app also enables users to book events, purchase tickets, and access exclusive premium content. Over 250 installed beacons allow for visitor localization within the museums, enhancing the visit experience with real-time notifications and updates.

When Apricots Blossom marks the prestigious debut of Uzbekistan at Milan Design Week 2026. Commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), the project found its home in the historic garden and galleries of Palazzo Citterio in Brera. The exhibition serves as a cultural bridge, bringing the resilient spirit of the Aral Sea region to the heart of Milan, celebrating the heritage of Karakalpakstan through a contemporary architectural lens.

The project brief focused on three fundamental pillars: food, shelter, and clothing. Inside the galleries of Palazzo Citterio, the exhibition unfolds through a research-led journey featuring the film “Where the Water Ends” and the “Bread as Craft” collection. For this installation, 12 international designers collaborated with Uzbek artisans to reinterpret the chekich (traditional bread stamps), turning ancient rituals into modern design statements. This section of the project highlights how craft can act as a tool for environmental and cultural renewal.

The architectural centerpiece, produced by BLΛCK, is a “Deconstructed Yurt” a 15 meter wide structure that reinterprets traditional nomadic dwellings. Composed of a complex lattice framework of 500 steel elements encased in a translucent fiber gauze, the pavilion represents a “meeting place of cultural connections.” It stands as a symbol of hospitality and memory, providing a radical, open space that invites visitors to reflect on the landscape of the Aral Sea

The pavilion was more than a static installation; it was a vibrant hub for the Public Program, hosting daily workshops and conversations. To fully embody the spirit of Uzbek hospitality, the structure hosted key communal moments, including an inaugural dinner on the opening day and a traditional breakfast the following morning. These activations transformed the architectural space into a living laboratory of social exchange, where the themes of the exhibition were shared through authentic moments of gathering and dialogue.

Working closely with the Salone del Mobile. Milano and the Ministry of Culture, BLΛCK played a central role in delivering “Red in Progress” the three-day event building on the deep-rooted cooperation between Italy and Saudi Arabia and standing as the first concrete platform for dialogue and cultural, commercial, and visionary exchange between the two countries. Created to connect two evolving ecosystems, the initiative shared the goal of fostering a structured dialogue among institutions, designers, and companies.

Developed at the Financial Plaza in KAFD, crafted around several spaces , the event included a large installation curated by Gio Forma studio showing more than 200 iconic design products other than a business lounge designed by Studio Lissoni hosting a three day B2B activity planned and managed by BLACK involving 38 leading manufacturer companies and architects, developers, interior designers, contractors, and industry professionals, confirming the MENA region’s strong interest in Made in Italy and in a top-tier design culture.

Black also managed the full public program: Red in Progress featured a robust program of 13 talks and masterclasses, including the presentation of the 9th Italian Design Day, hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Riyadh, with 33 moderators and speakers from 11 countries exploring contemporary design, sustainable design, and intercultural dialogue between Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the global scene.

Al Musalla is a contemporary sacred structure born from the AlMusalla Prize and realized through the winning project On Weaving by EAST Architecture Studio. Made of reclaimed palm wood and woven fibers, it embodies a rare balance of architectural innovation and cultural heritage — a work that demands museum-grade handling, precision, and respect for its ritual and symbolic value.

The journey began in Jeddah, where Al Musalla was first installed for the Islamic Arts Biennale at the Western Hajj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport. Presented from January 25 to May 25, 2025, the Biennale showcased Islamic art, history, and contemporary creations, providing the original context for the work’s debut.

After its first presentation in Jeddah for the Islamic Arts Biennale, Al Musalla was selected to travel internationally as a living fragment of Saudi cultural identity. Its relocation became the core of Rooted Transience at San Gregorio Abbey during the Venice Architecture Biennale, bringing a tangible piece of contemporary Saudi architecture into dialogue with Venice’s historic fabric.

The fragment was shipped from Saudi Arabia to Venice inside a dedicated container aboard a cargo vessel. Upon arrival in Italy, its condition was formally assessed and certified before reassembly in the Abbey’s cloister. The structure was mounted onto a custom welded metal base, ensuring both the protection of the cloister flooring and a stable support throughout the Biennale. Alongside the fragment, a selection of objects crafted from the same palm-based materials was displayed, extending the narrative of On Weaving through its shared material language.

From Venice, Al Musalla continued its itinerary to the Bukhara Biennale 2025, where it was presented as part of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation program. BLΛCK supported the production management on site, ensuring the work’s installation aligned with curatorial intent and local exhibition conditions.

This journey highlights BLΛCK’s ability to deliver highly sensitive cultural operations at an international scale, where logistical precision and respect for symbolic value are equally essential. Across each relocation, BLΛCK managed the full art-handling process — technical assessment, dismantling, cataloguing, packing, international shipping, reassembly, and commissioning — preserving Al Musalla’s materials, geometries, and weaving techniques with museum-grade care.

The visitor experience is one of our strongest areas of expertise and a core part of our business. While our approach is always 360-degree approach, it begins with the same key pillar.

The culture of the host country. Taking into consideration the culture of the host nation is always our starting point. The challenge in the teamLab operation is to bridge continents and make sure that a museum founded in Japan, with its heritage as a focal point, remains accessible to an audience with a different cultural perspective.

BLΛCK provides a comprehensive range of services aimed at enhancing venue operations and optimizing visitor experiences. This includes conducting in-depth studies to develop the guest experience, implementing effective communication strategies, and managing all aspects of the venue. Our services extend to ticketing systems, gift shop operations, and the coordination of ushers and security personnel to ensure a seamless flow of activities. Additionally, we oversee traffic management, regular maintenance, and the smooth operation of all on-site services, guaranteeing a memorable and efficient experience for every guest.

BLΛCK is responsible for developing the Museum’s communication strategy. This includes integrating the marketing and communication plan for teamLab Borderless Jeddah with new activities aimed at increasing the visibility and recognition of the new and innovative digital art museum, positioning it as a focal point that connects local and global artistic hubs within the broader redevelopment project of the Jeddah Historic District.

BLΛCK aims to continue the positioning journey of the Museum and the district as an innovation hub within the local art scene, striving to redefine conventional artistic experiences and establish the project as a reference point for contemporary art, both locally and internationally.

Persist in positioning teamLab Borderless Jeddah at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation and the Ministry of Culture’s initiative to establish the Kingdom as a leading global hub for art and culture.
 All images are courtesy of teamLab Borderless Jeddah © teamLab