JEDDAH – Kazakh and Uzbek creative industry representatives will participate in the second Islamic Arts Biennale Jan. 25 – May 25. Hosted by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the event will be held at the Hajj Terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, showcasing how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through emotions, ideas, and artistic creation.
The 2023 Islamic Arts Biennale at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo credit: The Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
More than 30 major international institutions will take part in the Biennale, with more than 20 new commissions by artists from Saudi Arabia and worldwide complementing the historical objects on display.
Showcasing faith through art and culture
According to the foundation’s statement, the biennale will offer unique insights into how cultures endure amid the transformations taking place in the country within a global context. The exhibition explores historic and contemporary works within galleries and outdoor spaces. Featuring five exhibition halls and more than 500 objects and contemporary artworks, the exhibition will examine humanity’s efforts to comprehend the wonder of divine creation.
Photo credit: The Diriyah Biennale Foundation.
One of the event’s highlights is the international architecture competition to design a Musalla, a space for prayer on the site of the biennale. In 2024, the winner of the 2024 AlMusalla Prize became the EAST Architecture Studio, based in Lebanon and the UAE, in collaboration with the engineering firm AKT II based in the UK and Beirut- and San Francisco–based artist Rayyane Tabet.
It should be noted that the architects were asked to make teams that included an artist and engineer to collaboratively design a Musalla, a versatile, modular prayer space that welcomes Muslim and non-Muslim visitors.
Central Asian presence at the event
Architects Asif Khan and Zaure Aitayeva, who run their studio in the United Kingdom, were also shortlisted for the AlMusalla Prize. Khan has a work on view at the exhibition.
Khan and Aitayeva’s studio is known for reworking Smithfield Market for the Museum of London, a project due for completion in 2026. They also won the competition to renew the Barbican Arts Center last year and designed the 21-meter-high carbon fiber gates for Dubai Expo 2020. Their portfolio includes a museum and space center in the Middle East and projects in Kazakhstan, the reconstruction of the Tselinnyi Center in Almaty.
Reflecting the Biennale’s theme, Uzbekistan will present exhibits showcasing the country’s cultural heritage. Highlights include several pages of the eighth-century “Kattalangar Quran,” one of the essential Islamic manuscripts, as well as “At-Tafhim li Awa’il Sina’at al-Tanjim” (The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology) by Abu Rayhon Beruniy (13th century), “Zij-i Ulugh Beg” by Mirzo Ulugbek (16th century), and the “Tashkent Scrolls” (16th century).
The country’s participation is spearheaded by the country’s Art and Culture Development Foundation, led by Chair Gayane Umerova. The exhibits will be curated by curator Marika Sardar in the context of the AlMadar section of the Biennale, which is led by Abdul Rahman Azzam, one of the artistic directors.
