Saudi Arabia: Vatican Library at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jedda
From January 25 to May 24, 2025, several works from the collections of the Vatican Library will be presented in the AlMadar section of the Islamic Arts Biennale, which will be held at the Hajj Terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. This architectural monument is important for Muslims around the world, as it welcomes millions of travelers each year on their way to Mecca.
By Vatican News
The Vatican Apostolic Library has announced its participation in the Islamic Arts Biennale, showcasing several pieces from its collections. The event will take place from January 25 to May 25, 2025, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the exhibition will be hosted at the Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, a major hub designed to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who travel to perform the sacred journeys of Hajj and Umrah. The terminal has profound significance for Muslims around the world as it welcomes millions of visitors each year on their way to Mecca.
A center of art and culture
This unique cultural event celebrates Islamic civilization through its artistic and scientific achievements. It aims to be a place of creative exchange, offering visitors the opportunity to explore the contributions of Islamic art and culture to the contemporary world. The Biennale promotes the diversity of artistic expressions of Islamic art on a global scale and seeks to foster understanding and collaboration between cultures, connecting the past, present and future. It will present a wide range of contemporary artworks and historical objects through an immersive and multi-sensory experience.
International team of exhibition curators
The inaugural edition of the Biennale in 2023 attracted over 600,000 visitors, and the 2025 edition continues this tradition, presenting historical objects alongside contemporary artworks in a rich and ongoing dialogue. The exhibition is organized by an international team, led by artistic directors Abdul Rahman Azzam, a renowned historian and author who served as a senior expert advisor for AlMadar in 2023; Julian Raby, a distinguished scholar and former professor of Islamic art and architecture at the University of Oxford and former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art; and Amin Jaffer, director of the Al Thani Collection and a scholar specializing in the intersections of European and Asian cultures. Saudi artist Muhannad Shono, known for his exploration of spirituality and the role of imagination in shaping reality, is the curator of contemporary art. The Biennale will cover 110,000 square meters of exhibition space and will include the publication of a comprehensive catalog of the works presented.
Art from museums, libraries and collections around the world
AlMadar (The Orbit) will feature a diverse selection of objects from museums, libraries and collections around the world. It will offer a comprehensive exploration of the art of numbers, from its origins in nature to its diverse applications in Islamic culture, including advances in mathematics, celestial and terrestrial cartography, navigation and trade, religious rituals and spiritual life, Quranic organization and decoration, geometry, proportions, Arabic text design and architecture. Contemporary artworks will accompany the exhibition, examining the theme of numbers in the modern world, including site-specific installations.
