JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The second edition of the Biennial of Islamic Arts, titled And everything in betweenwas opened to the public in the presence of His Excellency Rakan Bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, Deputy Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia.
The Biennial of Islamic Arts is the world’s first, and so far only, biennial exhibition dedicated to the arts of Islamic civilization. This is a truly global project, anchored in Saudi Arabia which insists on the contemporary relevance of tradition, through the presence of historical objects and new artistic commissions.
The 2025 edition of the Biennale brings together loans from more than 30 of the world’s leading institutions, including the Vatican Apostolic Library (Vatican City), the Louvre Museum (Paris), and the Victoria and the Albert Museum (London), as well as collections dedicated specifically to Islamic arts and cultures, such as the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Education and Islamic Research (Timbuktu), the Museum of Islamic Art (Doha), and the Türkiye Manuscripts Institution (Istanbul). Additionally, the Biennale has partnered with institutions from all over Saudi Arabiaoffering visitors the opportunity to view artifacts and artwork from the holy sites of Mecca And Medina.
The exhibition spans five exhibition halls and outdoor spaces, occupying 100,000 square meters of exhibition space, and presents more than 500 objects in dialogue with contemporary works of art. It features the participation of more than 30 artists from Saudi Arabiain the wider Gulf region and around the world. In its second edition, the Biennale witnesses the first ever exhibition of the entire Kiswah, the fabric that covers the Holy Kaaba, apart from Mecca.
Led by artistic directors Julien Raby, Amin JafferAnd Abdul Rahman Azzamalongside the Saudi artist Muhannad Shono as a curator of contemporary art, the Biennale offers insight into how cultures around the world interact and endure. By juxtaposing historical objects from Islamic cultures with contemporary art, the Biennale explores how faith is experienced, expressed and celebrated through feeling, thought and creation.
The Biennale of Islamic Arts takes place in Jeddaha city that has been a meeting point of cultures for centuries. The site is the Hajj West Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, which echoes the memory and emotion of millions of Muslim pilgrims who embark on their sacred journeys for Hajj and Umrah every year. The exhibition will be visible through May 25, 2025.
Contact: mediaqueries@biennale.org.sa
SOURCE Diriyah Biennale Foundation
