Sumayya Vally to curate the first Islamic Arts Biennale
Johannesburg-based curator, architect and founder of Counterspace, Summayya Vally, is set to creative direct the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale, alongside a curatorial team that includes Dr Saad Alrashed, who is a leading Saudi scholar and archaeologist; Dr Omniya Abdel Barr, architect and Barakat Trust Fellow at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum; and Dr Julian Raby, Director Emeritus of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution. “I am honored to be working with an incredible constellation of artists, each of whom I believe will contribute meaningfully to this discourse of Islamic art,” says Vally. “These artists reflect deeply on the generativity of our contexts and practices for the present and future.”
The list of exhibiting artists includes (South Africans in bold): Abdelrahman Elshahed, Adel Al Quraishi, Ahmed Mater, Alia Farid, Ayman Yossri-Daydban, Ayman Zedani, Basmah Felemban, Beya Othmani, Bricklab Civil Architecture, DAL – Digital Arts Lab, Dima Srouji, Farah Behbahani, Hamedine Kane, Haroon Gunn-Salie, Haroon Mirza, Huda Lutfi, Idris Khan, Igshaan Adams, Iheb Guermazi, James Webb, Joseph Namy, Kamruzamman Shadin, Leen Ajlan, Lubna Chowdhary, M’barek Bouhchichi, Moataz Nasr, Moath Alofi, Nasser Alsalem, Nora Alissa, Noura Al Sayeh, Reem Al Faisal, Rund Alarabi, SYN Architects, Sarah Alabdali, Sarah Brahim, Shahpour Pouyan, Studio Bound, Sultan Bin Fahad, Taus Makhacheva, Wael Shawky, Yasmeen Lari, Yazid Oulab, and Ziad Jamaleddine/L.E.FT Architect.
The Diriyah Biennale Foundation (DBF) revealed announced that the Islamic Arts Biennale will be taking place at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah from 23 January 23 to 23 April 2023.
Iziko SANG to re-open this week
The Iziko South African National Gallery re-opens this week with a new exhibition, Breaking down the Walls: 150 YEARS OF ART COLLECTING AT IZIKO. The exhibition re-thinks the Iziko Art Collection “in a new and exciting way.” Word on the street is that the museum has got a colourful paint job. The opening is scheduled for 26 October at 18:00. Contact Shameem Adams for more info.
Igshaan Adams moves his studio to Zeitz
Igshaan Adams has returned to Zeitz MOCAA for a studio residency as part of the museum’s ongoing Atelier programme. Titled Not Working (Working Title), Adams intends to use the Atelier as an opportunity to foreground the people, practices and networks that are so intricately part of his work. In addition to reviving projects that have lingered in his storage for “not quite working yet,” Adams hopes to further explore the movement and dance traditions of Namaqualand, bringing performative aspects into his work. See the artist at work from Thursday, 20 October 2022 through Sunday, 23 April 2023.
Igshaan Adams, Heideveld, 2021. Courtesy of blank projects.
