The Venice Biennale sheds light on lesser-known narratives outside of the international art world.

After growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, and moving to California as a teenager, artist and author Maliha Abidi found it difficult to find stories of women who looked like her or with whom she felt she could identify.

Amid the roar of racers zooming toward the finish line in London during the 1980 Grand Prix, longtime auto-racing photographer and renowned artist Michael Turner trained his lens on a Saudia-Williams FW 07.

The United Kingdom is experiencing a surge in demand for contemporary art of African origin. For artists of the African diaspora, the UK represents a new arena in which to showcase their messages through unique techniques and mediums. Interest in their work follows mounting pressure on museums, universities and other institutions to “decolonize” their curricula and collections.

As a boy living in Jakarta, where his Dutch father worked as a civil engineer in the early 1970s, Eric Broug grew fascinated with Islamic culture. By the 1990s, after having begun studies in Middle Eastern politics at the University of Amsterdam, Broug turned his interest to Islamic geometric design and joined the master’s program at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies in Islamic art and archeology.

In patterns and refractions, the old city of Fez, Morocco, comes to life through the geometric tile works known as zillij. In 2001, AramcoWorld commissioned photographer Peter Sanders to tell the story of a family who for five generations has added new dimensions to art and architecture.

From installations in the desert to abstract sculptures by the sea, the Arabian Gulf is flourishing as a multicultural hub for contemporary art. Part of a cultural revolution marked by the expansion of galleries and exhibitions, the surge of interest has helped artists from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates rise to the global scene. The growth of this art ecosystem is being hailed as a seminal moment in that cultural transformation.

Creators Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley present three exquisite textiles and a cape made from the silk of golden orb-weavers found in Madagascar.

He never planned on Egypt. Having learned Swahili while studying linguistics at York University, in his hometown of York, United Kingdom, R. Neil Hewison expected his first assignment with the international charity organization Voluntary Service Overseas would be in East Africa.