Born and raised in Riyadh, he is a board member of the Ad-Diriyah Biennale Foundation and a founding member of the Saudi Art Council and its 21,39 Jeddah Arts initiative. He sits on the Board of Trustees of Ballroom Marfa and is a member of the Solomon R. Guggenheim’s Middle Eastern Circle. Abdullah served as the founding Creative Director for the Edge of Arabia and was a member of Tate’s Middle East North Africa Acquisition Committee. Abdullah has a degree in Finance and Masters's in Management from Cass Business School and initially worked in banking before becoming involved in the contemporary art scene.