Princess Alia Al-Senussi, PhD, is a leading member of the contemporary art world, with a special emphasis in her academic, personal and professional work on visual arts and culture in the Middle East, holding a doctorate degree in politics from SOAS which analyzed the nexus of soft power and cultural diplomacy in the context of networks of patronage, with a case study of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Senussi is a founding member of the Tate’s Acquisitions Committee for the Middle East and North Africa, the Board of 1:54 The African Art Fair, and the Middle East Circle of the Guggenheim. Amongst other positions, Dr. Al-Senussi is Chair of the K11 International Council and a member of the Tate Modern Advisory Council, the board of the Serpentine Future Contemporaries and the Strategic Advisory Council of Delfina Foundation. Dr. Al-Senussi’s work has encompassed a variety of other initiatives in the global art world, including being integral to the founding of Art Dubai, as well as the international advisory board of Edge of Arabia, the Advisory Board of Ikon Gallery, and the Advisory Group of Photo London. Dr. Al-Senussi is Senior Advisor, International Outreach and the VIP Representative for the United Kingdom, as well as the Middle East and North Africa, for Art Basel and a Senior Advisor to the Saudi Ministry of Culture focusing on work with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and will be lecturing this autumn at VCU Qatar.
She and Zuckerman discuss cultural diplomacy and soft power, women and self-confidence, being more than one thing, recent travel and exhibitions, and where feels like home!