V&A and Art Jameel to Spotlight Islamic Moving Image
The two institutions have announced the nominees for the seventh Jameel Prize, which was conceived to celebrate the influence of Islamic culture and traditions on contemporary art.
Alia Farid, Chibayish (2022) (still). Video. Courtesy the artist
London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and Art Jameel, Dubai, have announced the details of the 2024 Jameel Prize, which will focus on moving-image and digital media.
The triennial award, worth £25,000, was launched by the V&A and Art Jameel in 2009 to support contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic society and tradition. The institutions have collaborated since 2006 to transform the British museum's Islamic galleries.
Six artists and one collective were shortlisted this year, including Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Jawa El Khash, Alia Farid, Zahra Malkani, Khandakar Ohida, Marrim Akashi Sani, and Iranian artist group Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, and Hesam Rahmanian.
Finalists were selected from over 300 applicants working in film, video, and emerging technologies. Their work engages with ecology, landscape, and spirituality, and how industries and politics have shaped Middle Eastern and South Asian societies.
The winner will be announced on 27 November 2024, after which an exhibition of the finalists' works will be shown at the V&A in South Kensington from 30 November to 16 March 2025.
'Over the last 15 years the [Jameel] Prize has explored diverse responses to Islamic civilisation in many media,' said V&A Director, Tristram Hunt. 'The range of eligible work has expanded and diversified, allowing us to concentrate on digital media and the moving image for this edition.'
In The Upper Side of the Sky (2019), Jawa El Khash presents an interactive world modelled after her hometown of Damascus, Syria, and the ancient ruins of Palmyra, that revives the city destroyed by civil war while exploring the idea of a digital archeology.
Documenting her uncle's 50-year collection of objects and memorabilia held inside his mud house, Khandakar Ohida's film Dream Your Museum (2022) seeks to challenge traditional museum models, inviting audiences to find value in the items of everyday life.
After showing at the V&A, Jameel Prize: Moving Images will travel to Cartwright Hall in Bradford followed by Hayy Jameel cultural centre in Jeddah.
The sixth Jameel Prize, devoted to design, was awarded to Saudi artist Ajlan Gharem. —[O]
