Institute of Art in the Arab World

Mona Khazindar

Mona Khazindar has curated numerous international exhibitions for the past 30 years. 

She was the first female and first Saudi Director of the Arab World Institute of Paris, a position that she held from 2011 to 2014. 

In 2012, Khazindar was appointed a permanent member of the board of trustees of the Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MUCEM) by the French Minister of Culture. In 2014–2015, she was appointed cultural advisor to the President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). In 2018, she was appointed by Royal decree, as member of the Saudi Cultural Authority.

In 2017, she founded Palette, an arts and culture collective that engineers cultural projects and art publications. She has written widely in Arab and European publications on Arab art, culture and history. 

She has authored the book Visions from Abroad, Historical and Contemporary Representations of Saudi Arabia. A Saudi national, Khazindar holds a postgraduate degree (DEA) in Contemporary and Modern History from the Sorbonne and a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature from the American University in Paris.