Princess Alia al-Senussi Phd on Making A Difference. the World of Art & Female Board Membership

Path Passion Purpose by DIONZ

Princess Alia Al-Senussi, PhD, is a globally renowned member of the contemporary art world with a focus on cultural strategy and patronage systems. She is an active cultural strategist, writer, patron, public speaker and academic recognized for her deep knowledge of the global art world and its systems and members. Considered one of the foremost figures in contemporary art of her generation, Dr Alia has spent her entire career in the global art world.

Dr Alia has served as Art Basel's UK and MENA Representative for over a decade, and is also currently Senior Advisor, International Outreach for Art Basel. In 2019 she was appointed Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia, where she focuses on developing international partnerships whilst working on a variety of projects across the Ministry’s commissions and the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Dr Alia is a visiting lecturer at Brown University’s Watson Institute, working primarily with the Middle East Studies Program.

Dr Alia is currently the founding Chairperson of the K11 International Council, a member of the Tate Modern Advisory Council (London), the Board of Trustees of the ICA London, the Strategic Advisory Panel of the Delfina Foundation (London), the Board of Trustees of The Showroom (London), the Board of Trustees of FUNTASIA/Elisa Sednaoui Foundation (UK / Egypt / Italy), the Board of Governors of Aiglon College (Switzerland) as well as a member of Therme Advisory Board (Germany) and the UCCA Contemporary Circle (China). Dr Alia has recently been appointed founding Global Co-Chair of the LACMA Ambassadors Board.

She continues to serve as 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, the Middle East Studies Advisory Committee at Brown University, the Serpentine Future Contemporaries (and founding committee member) as well as was a founding member of the Board of Patrons of Art Dubai, having played an integral role in the founding of the fair. Dr Alia is also a member of the British Museum committee for the acquisition of Middle Eastern art.

Dr Alia has a PhD in Politics from SOAS (London), examining the nexus of power and cultural patronage, featuring Saudi Arabia as a case study. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in International Relations (honors) and Middle East Studies from Brown University and holds an MA in Political Science from Brown and an MSc in Law, Anthropology and Society from the London School of Economics.