Latest news with #AlMadar
Arab News
19-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Al-Madar at the Islamic Arts Biennale — a new global center for Islamic art
Throughout history, Muslim societies have been defined by movement, openness to influences from various places around the world and the exchange of ideas. This has been the case from the Arabian peninsula to West Africa, and from Central Asia to the Indonesian archipelago. Reflecting these shared histories and distinct identities has been at the core of our work for the Islamic Arts Biennale. It was a source of inspiration for its first edition in 2023 and it takes an expanded form in the current one, which is on view in Jeddah until May 25. How can we convey the breadth of the arts of Islamic civilization in a large-scale exhibition? The obvious approach would have been to establish a new collecting institute that would emphasize historical lineages. But a strategy like this would contravene the global nature of a civilization that is in continuous motion. It would also ignore the fact that many of the most important works of Islamic art are already held by major institutions around the world. Instead, we launched the Islamic Arts Biennale as a way of bringing together the world's leading collections of Islamic art. Alongside contemporary art commissions and objects from the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, these loans come together in a special component of the Biennale that we call Al-Madar, which translates from Arabic as 'the orbit.' To compose Al-Madar, we collaborated with museums, libraries and archives from what is often called the Muslim world and beyond. Our ambition was to bring these collections together to show that any story of Islamic arts cannot be told from one vantage point. More than 30 institutions chose to participate, including the Musee du Louvre (Paris), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Vatican Apostolic Library (Vatican City), as well as collections devoted specifically to Islamic arts and cultures, such as the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research (Timbuktu), the Museum of Islamic Art (Doha) and the Manuscripts Institute of Turkiye (Istanbul). The participation of these institutions allows us to tell stories through objects, stories related to movements and interactions that have shaped the histories of Muslim societies for centuries. A map of the course of the Nile, from Upper Egypt to the Mediterranean, from the Vatican Apostolic Library is presented alongside a map of the Tigris and Euphrates. Both are attributed to the 17th-century Ottoman Turkish explorer Evliya Celebi and were probably commissioned to accompany the publication of his memoirs. Seen together, they offer a more complete view of his trajectory. Books of constellations and instruments of celestial navigation from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and the Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait address practices of navigation across and between continents from the 12th through to 17th centuries. Through these objects, the perspective of a scientific understanding of the world comes into clear focus. Our intention with the Islamic Arts Biennale is to widen its orbit with each edition, to tell more expansive stories about the arts of Islamic cultures. The objects on view invite exploration, discovery and discussion of many subjects, as varied as maps, to aid the navigation of some of the world's great rivers, masterpieces of textile arts, shadow puppets and mathematical treatises. This is a constellation that we can all recognize, and that will always help us find our way home.
Leaders
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Leaders
‘AlMidhallah' Artistic Space Reimagines Islamic Garden at Islamic Arts Biennale
The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, themed 'And All That Is in Between,' continues to captivate art and culture enthusiasts at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Within this immersive experience, AlMidhallah (The Canopy) offers a creative interpretation of gardens in Islamic civilization. Set outdoors beneath pointed canopies reminiscent of traditional Arab tents, the space seamlessly blends contemporary art with the architectural heritage of the Islamic world. Featuring approximately 20 commissioned works curated by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, AlMidhallah serves as a dynamic intersection of tradition and modernity. Drawing inspiration from the charbagh , the classical Islamic garden divided into four sections by water channels, the artworks are arranged into thematic quadrants. Moreover, these quadrants guide visitors through a journey from individual introspection to collective experience, fostering reflection, learning, contemplation, and social engagement. More than just an art exhibition, AlMidhallah explores the intersection of art and nature, prompting dialogue on contemporary environmental and social issues. Through its artistic lens, the space invites visitors to reflect on the intricate relationship between humanity and its surrounding environment. Related Topics : AlMadar at Islamic Arts Biennale Explores Islamic Scientific Heritage Islamic Arts Biennale: Ithra Showcases Rare Archaeological Artifacts Diriyah Company Considers Potential Retail Partnership with Alshaya Group, Starbucks Saudi Arabia's Non-Profit Sector Tops SAR 100 Billion Impact Short link : Post Views: 43
The National
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
How the Islamic Arts Biennale is broadening the definition of traditional art through its contemporary works
Impeccable craftsmanship and numerical attention to detail have long been hallmarks of historical Islamic art, from the calligraphy and border designs on the sacred pages of the Quran to the geometric and floral patterns found on the carpets, lamps and architecture of the region. Often, these aspects sought to reflect upon the beauty of divine creations, namely the natural world and its seemingly perfect interconnectedness. Many of the contemporary artists showcasing works at the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale also draw inspiration and subject matter from the natural world – however, in a very different way. The biennale's contemporary interventions are featured in its indoor and outdoor spaces, including the galleries of AlMadar and AlBidaya and the sprawling AlMidhallah, situated under the canopy of the Western Hajj Terminal, which features site-specific commissions. 'All these are part of a contemporary intervention into the theme And All That Is In Between,' says Saudi artist Muhannad Shono, who is the curator of contemporary art at the biennale. "Contemporary art becomes a link between our historical past objects and the narratives they embody. That link is of the now, but it must have an eye on imagining the future. If we lose sight of our contemporary creative practice today, we end up forgetting the past, and we have no future.' Shono points out that objects and artworks we now deem historical were once contemporary. They used the technology and materials available at the time, depending on their location and access, and responded to novel ideas of the era. As such, a trajectory is concisely drawn between the historic objects and the contemporary works at the biennale. It is most noticeable, perhaps, in the proximity of the inner spaces, as artefacts are juxtaposed with works by Ahmed Mater, Asif Khan and Hayat Osamah, to name a few. The AlMidhallah area, however, is where most of the commissioned pieces are being exhibited, especially those that challenge traditional conceptions of Islamic art. In Watering the distant, deserting the near, Bahraini-American artist Nasser AlZayani presents an installation that honours Ain Adhari, a natural spring in Bahrain that has dried up as a result of climate change and human exploitation. It is a fate that has befallen several springs in the region. The installation, comprised of thick panels of sand, is engraved with the inscription of a 1970 poem by Ali Abdulla Khalifa named Adhari. The poem commemorates the spring, grieving its fate while reflecting on social imbalances. Watering the distant, deserting the near will slowly erode at the site. The poem it bears will gradually become illegible, making a thought-provoking statement about memory and the loss of cultural heritage. Fatima Abdulhadi, meanwhile, explores the significance of the basil plant in domestic and religious settings in I Wish You in Heaven. The Saudi artist took cues from a statement her mother often made about the smell of basil being the scent of paradise. The plant is found in several public spaces across Saudi Arabia, and is often used to mark happy occasions, as well as to mourn the deceased. The installation comprises a walkway abreast with basil plants and framed with a series of doorways of suspended meshes. As visitors walk through to the other side, they are enveloped in the scent of the plant, as well as its shadows that are cast upon the mesh. Lebanese artist Tamara Kalo, who works between Riyadh and Beirut, is showcasing a very different style of work, one that pays homage to the Islamic Golden Age of scientific achievement as much as it does to the Quran. The Optics of a Rising Sun is a reimagining of the camera obscura (Latin for dark chamber) conceived by the medical Arab mathematician Ibn al-Haytham. The copper sculpture invites viewers to stand in its middle and view their surroundings through an inverted perspective. The work pays tribute to Ibn al-Haytham's discovery that human vision is the result of light entering the eye and then being processed by the brain. Its use of copper, meanwhile, is an homage to the crafts of the Abbasid Caliphate. The work also draws from a verse in the Nur chapter of Quran, which describes Allah's light as coming from an olive tree that is situated neither east nor west. Iqra Tanveer and Ehsan Ul Haq drew inspiration from a different chapter of the Quran for their installation. The Pakistani artists, who work between Lahore and Amsterdam, turned to a parable from chapter Al-Kahf, which tells the story of a group of people who withdraw into a cave and are put in a state of sleep, waking up many years later to the dawn of a new age. Sleepers of the Cave explores this tradition from sleep to wakefulness. Abstract sculptural figures around the site give the impression of figures stretching out from their years-long slumber. Similar to AlZayani's work, they are constructed from materials that will disintegrate – perhaps underscoring the dire realities of climate change that are impending. The installation in the middle strikes a more hopeful note, however, featuring a panel of rippling water that brings to mind the original parable's message of rejuvenation. Asim Waqif's Min Rukam is perhaps the largest of the works in the outdoor area of the terminal. An edifice constructed from criss-crossed and lined bamboo sticks that were harvested from Assam, India, the installation uses traditional building techniques to create parametric forms. Viewers are invited to walk within the structure, feeling the bamboo bend under their steps and be enveloped by the sounds of creaking amplified by speakers. The work at once draws a connection between the durability of the building technique and the fragility of the craft and materials it uses. Min Rukam makes a statement about the fate of traditional crafts while simultaneously reflecting upon notions of sustainable architecture practices and questioning the number of opportunities given to artisans. Each of the commissioned works under AlMidhalla offers a new way of thinking about Islamic art in a contemporary setting, and how faith can be a means of comprehending pressing environmental and social issues. 'I wanted artists who were present, who were ready to engage, to be responsive to the now, to this transformative moment we're in,' Shono says. 'There are emerging artists who remind me of my younger self and established artists whose tenacity and faith in their imagination has taken them far. There is very much an urgency of being present, being engaged, and giving shape to the in-between – objects, timelines and ideas. All help define this expansive, inclusive space that has no edges.'
