Islamic art

Two important private collections will take centre stage in Saudi Arabia's Islamic Arts Biennale next year

The second edition of the event will also include loans from the Louvre, the Bodleian Library, the Qatar National Library, and the Vatican—which does not have diplomatic relations with the kingdom

World’s first museum of Sufi art to debut in Paris

The Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO opens at challenging moment for France’s Muslim community

Frick museum in Pittsburgh postpones Islamic art exhibition over fears it would appear ‘insensitive’ or ‘traumatic’ amid Gaza war

Local Muslim and Jewish organisations have questioned the decision, suggesting it risks conflating historic Islamic art and Hamas

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, becomes ‘nexus for the study of Islamic art’

Texas institution opens six new galleries to display its collection of Islamic art, coinciding with its hosting of symposium on the subject

US supports restoration of Pakistan’s epic walled city

As country is mired in economic and political turmoil, major upgrading project forges ahead with restoration of important sites at the ancient heart of Lahore

Brooklyn Museum completes ten-year renovation of Asian and Islamic art galleries

The approximately $9m project included modernising 20,000 sq. ft of galleries and bringing key objects out of storage for public display for the first time

Revamped Museum of Islamic Art in Doha to reopen with more than 1,000 new objects

After 18-month closure, Qatar gallery to relaunch on 5 October in time for Fifa World Cup

Exhibition traces the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad in unprecedented detail

Show about the Hijrah—Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina—at Saudi Arabia’s Ithra Museum will go on a five-year world tour

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to expand its Islamic art galleries

The museum’s Islamic art collection spans more than 1,400 pieces as well as important long-term loans

Indianews

India's largest art museum to open Islamic gallery

The Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad contains around 2,500 objects related to Islamic faiths and traditions

More refugees to be trained as tour guides at Oxford University museums after £1m gift from Saudi foundation

Funding from Alwaleed Philanthropies will support Multaka project working with 200 refugees and asylum seekers over the next five years

France launches Islamic art shows across 18 cities to combat rising Islamophobia

The Louvre-led government initiative aims to shatter clichés and encourage a deeper understanding

Booksreview

Magnificence of mosques and their contents revealed in book created by 'dream team' of Saudi and Egyptian museums

Exploration of the Islamic building through its decorations and objects fills a gap in the field

This Victorian house in London hides remarkable Islamic interiors—now it is getting its first contemporary work

Leighton House Museum—which was once the home and studio of artist Lord Leighton—is undergoing restoration and will reopen in 2021

Booksreview

Two books have different takes on the question: just what is Islamic Art?

One title, based on a recent exhibition, and another with an academic bent present divergent interpretations, from the context of workmanship and religion

Sotheby's sale of Israeli museum artefacts delayed after government pressure

Criticism in Israel reached an apex when President Rivlin called for the state to prevent the London auctions

Indianews

Indian museum hopes to reconcile bitter saga of sectarian conflict near disputed holy site

A planned mosque and cultural centre will celebrate the syncretic culture of Hinduism and Islam in the northern city of Ayodhya

Sale of more than 250 works from Jerusalem's Islamic art museum raises ethical questions

Israeli museum professionals fear deaccessioning auction could set a dangerous precedent

Booksreview

The image debate: new book looks at age-old question of figural representation in Islam

This collection of essays examines the Islamic treatment of figuration around the world, from pre-modern decoration to contemporary snowmen

Renewed enthusiasm for Orientalist paintings and a £3.7m coin buoy London's Islamic sales week

Busy auction series brought records for Osman Hamdi Bey and Jean-Léon Gérôme, and controversial sale of two illustrated folios separated from a Persian manuscript

This book of essays explores the varieties and definitions of Islamic art

The authors ask “What is Islamic about ‘Islamic’ art?”

A comprehensive survey of geometric forms in Modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art

Twenty-four artists present their own works in new book, including the late Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

British Museum’s Islamic art finally gets its fairy-tale ending

Restored Victorian galleries, funded by Albukhary Foundation and featuring screens by Ahmad Angawi, have transformed the presentation of the collection

Dull, dim and dusty no more: British Museum's new Islamic galleries bring collection out of the shadows

Light and spacious Albukhary Foundation Gallery is a huge transformation for the London institution, says Jane Jakeman

Oxford museums train refugees as tour guides and community curators

Berlin’s Multaka programme of Arabic-language tours is spreading to the UK—and beyond

Podcastspodcast

Bruce Nauman’s New York takeover. Plus, the British Museum dusts down its Islamic art galleries

We talk to the curator Kathy Halbreich about the giant two-part Bruce Nauman retrospective at MoMA and MoMA PS1. Plus, the specialist in Islamic studies Jane Jakeman reviews the new Islamic displays at London’s British Museum. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.

San Francisco show celebrates diversity of Muslim fashion

As debates on the burqa rage worldwide, De Young Museum exhibition explores complexities and range of Islamic dress

The Medici touch: exhibition shows how Florence fell for Islamic art

Six centuries of city’s connection to Muslim world explored in rare Uffizi and Bargello collaboration