The Jameel Prize marks its tenth anniversary with exhibition debut at Jameel Arts Centre

• The Jameel Prize is the only global award for artists and designers inspired by Islamic design and visual culture; it is a collaboration between the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and Art Jameel.
• The Jameel Prize 5 exhibition was inaugurated in Dubai last night by HE Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, with Nicholas Coleridge CBE, Chairman of the V&A, and Fady Mohammed Jameel, President, Art Jameel
• The international exhibition presents works by joint prize winners Mehdi Moutashar and Marina Tabassum plus shortlisted artists and designers Kamrooz Aram, naqsh collective, Hayv Kahraman, Hala Kaiksow, Younes Rahmoun and Wardha Shabbir

Jameel Arts Centre, one of the first major contemporary arts institutions in Dubai, today opens the Jameel Prize 5 exhibition, on tour from theVictoria & Albert Museum, London. The exhibition was inaugurated last night in the presence of Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Nicholas Coleridge CBE, Chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), and Fady Mohammed Jameel, President, Art Jameel.

A collaboration between the V&A and Art Jameel, the Jameel Prize was founded in 2009 to award contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic design and visual culture. In its 10-year history, the prize has received 1,193 nominations from over 40 countries; exhibited the work of 48 artists and designers; and toured to 16 venues globally.

The Jameel Prize 5 exhibition presents works by the joint prize winners – Iraqi artist Mehdi Moutashar and Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum – plus those by the prize’s shortlisted artists and designers: Iranian artist Kamrooz Aram; Jordan and Dubai-based graphic designer and architect duo naqsh collective; Iraqi-born painter Hayv Kahraman; Bahraini fashion designer Hala Kaiksow; Moroccan multimedia artist Younes Rahmoun; and Pakistani painter Wardha Shabbir. The Jameel Prize 5 shortlist was the most diverse to date featuring, for the first time, architecture amongst its shortlisted disciplines, while sources of inspiration range from calligraphy to embroidered shawls.

This year’s winners were decided by a panel of judges which included Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A; Salah Hassan, Professor and Director, Institute for Comparative Modernities at Cornell University, New York; Tanya Harrod, a design historian; November Paynter,Director of Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto; and Ghulam Mohammad, an artist and the winner of the Jameel Prize 4.

Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, said:

“Over the past decade, Jameel Prize has recognized the best in Islamic art by highlighting the strong influence of Islamic culture in modern and contemporary art. Now in its fifth edition, the biannual award is inspired by the richness of Islamic heritage and forms and motivates creatives to explore a new school of thought that combines the authenticity of the heritage and the beauty of contemporary art”.

Fady Mohammed Jameel, President of Art Jameel, said: “Our partnership with the V&A, which includes the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art and the Jameel Prize, has long been a source of pride for us. We have always worked in collaboration with like-minded organisations to create opportunities for artists from the Middle East and the wider Islamic world, and the Jameel Prize has led to a broader understanding of Islamic culture and its artistically rich history, and the contemporary artists and designers it has inspired.”

The Jameel Prize exhibition opened to the public on April 25, and will run until September 14, 2019.

Jameel Arts Centre, one of the first major contemporary arts institutions in Dubai, today opens the Jameel Prize 5 exhibition, on tour from the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.