The V&A and Art Jameel’s international award exhibition for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition is returning to the V&A South Kensington’s Porter Gallery for its seventh edition. Open from 30 November 2024 to 16 March 2025, the free London exhibition highlights the rich artistic heritage of the Islamic Middle East and South Asia, showcasing the vibrant connection between contemporary creativity and the region’s historical legacy. The winner of the Jameel Prize, worth £25,000, will be announced on 27 November 2024, and the work of all seven shortlisted artists will be on show.
Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, Hesam Rahmanian, If I had two paths, I would choose a third, 2020, video
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, A Thread of Light Between My Mother’s Fingers and Heaven, 2023, video
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
‘Over the last 15 years the Prize has explored diverse responses to Islamic civilisation in many media. Over this time, too, the range of eligible work has expanded and diversified, allowing us to concentrate on digital media and the moving image for this edition’
Chair of the Jameel Prize jury and V&A Director, Tristram Hunt
‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’ takes an in-depth look at issues relating to water, ecology, landscape and spirituality through the lens of moving image and digital media. The shortlisted artists, whose practice spans film, sculpture, photography, installation, sound, performance and VR, confront the way in which extractive industries and political dynamics shape the environmental and social fabric of the Middle East and South Asia.
Alia Farid, Chibayish, 2022, video
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
Jawa El Khash, The Upper Side of The Sky at Night, 2019, WebGL online simulation
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
Chosen from among more than 300 applicants, the finalists of ‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’ are Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Jawa El Khash, Alia Farid, Khandakar Ohida, Zahra Malkani, Marrim Akashi Sani, and Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh & Hesam Rahmanian (as a collective).
Drawing on different aspects of Islamic tradition, the artists address how history is written – exploring the creation and iconoclastic deconstruction of monuments alongside new approaches to museums and collections. Many works use hand-drawn animation and photography to powerfully convey personal testaments to community, resilience, and connection.
Khandakar Ohida, Dream Your Museum, 2022, video
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
Marrim Akashi Sani, Jewelry Box, from Muharram series, 2023, photography
(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)
The ‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’ exhibition is curated by the V&A’s Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East, Rachel Dedman. Following its run at the V&A, it will be showcased at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, the UK‘s City of Culture in 2025, and will then travel to Jeddah, where it will be displayed at the cutting-edge arts complex and creative hub, Hayy Jameel.
‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’, 30 November 2024 to 16 March 2025, vam.ac.uk
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