And All That Is In Between: Islamic Arts Biennale 2025
Overview
Published by Diriyah Biennale Foundation on the occasion of the second Islamic Arts Biennale, titled And All That Is In Between, held at the Western Hajj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, January 25–May 25, 2025
And All That Is In Between, the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025, featured over 500 Islamic art objects loaned from over 30 of the world’s leading institutions of Islamic arts, alongside 32 contemporary artworks by local and international artists, most of them newly commissioned for the occasion. Led by Artistic Directors Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, with Saudi artist Muhannad Shono as Curator of Contemporary Art, this second edition of the Biennale offers insights into the ways cultures from around the world interact and endure. The title is part of a verse that appears several times in the Quran: “And God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in between.”
The Islamic Arts Biennale takes place at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a city that for centuries has represented a junction point for cultural exchange and a venue that acts as a port of entry for millions of pilgrims on their journey to Makkah and Madinah. By juxtaposing historical objects from Islamic cultures with contemporary art, the Biennale explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated across time through feeling, thinking, and making. This comprehensive and richly illustrated catalog expands on the curatorial narratives and frameworks in detail, thoroughly documenting all the displayed objects, as well as the contemporary artworks.
Edited by Diriyah Biennale Foundation
About the Authors
Julian Raby
Julian Raby, born in London in 1949, studied as an undergraduate and postgraduate at the University of Oxford. He taught Islamic art and architecture at Oxford from 1979 for over 20 years before moving to become the Director of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery—now the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art—from 2002 to 2017. A distinguished scholar, Raby’s works include Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey (1989) and Qajar Portraits (1999), alongside groundbreaking research on cross-cultural themes such as the Pisa Grifn and Mehmed the Conqueror’s library. During his time at the Smithsonian Institution he directed over 30 major international exhibitions. Founder of Azimuth Editions and Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, Raby has received honors from Portugal, Türkiye, and Japan for his contributions to art history.
Abdul Rahman Azzam
Abdul Rahman Azzam holds a BA and DPhil in Middle Eastern and Islamic history from the University of Oxford. He is the author of Saladin: The Triumph of the Sunni Revival (2008), The Other Exile (2017), and The Return of Sebastian (2021). From 2007 to 2017, he served as Director of Communications and Cultural Advisor to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), where he led initiatives such as QF’s partnership with the British Library to digitize millions of documents. Previously Managing Director of The Islamic Texts Society and founder of Hood Hood Books, Azzam is a member of the KITAB project, exploring Arabic texts through digital humanities. He was also a senior advisor on AlMadar for the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023.
Amin Jaffer
Dr. Amin Jaffer is Director of The Al Thani Collection, an encyclopedic art collection of over 5,000 works spanning millennia, founded by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani. Formerly Senior Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and International Director of Asian Art at Christie’s, Jaffer is an accomplished author and editor of titles such as Furniture from British India and Ceylon (2001) and Made for Maharajas (2006). He co-curated landmark exhibitions including Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe (2004) and Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts (2009) at the V&A, and Jewels from The Al Thani Collection (2017) in Paris and Venice. Jaffer oversaw the creation of The Al Thani Collection museum at the Hôtel de la Marine, Paris, which opened to critical acclaim in 2021.
Muhannad Shono
Muhannad Shono (b. Riyadh, 1977) is a multidisciplinary artist trained in architecture. His practice foregrounds the irrepressible spirit of ideas and a living imagination, exploring their power to create meaning and realities. Shono represented Saudi Arabia at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022). Recent exhibitions include Forest Festival of the Arts, Okayama (2024); Louvre Abu Dhabi (2023); 6th Lyon Biennale (2022); Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (2021); British Museum, London (2021, 2018); Desert X, Al Ula (2020); and MACBA, Barcelona (2018). Shono is the recipient of the 2021–2022 National Cultural Award in Visual Arts, Saudi Arabia, and was awarded French Order of Arts and Letters at the rank of Knight in 2024.
Masa Al-Kutoubi
Masa Al-Kutoubi has over 15 years of experience in art advisory and consultancy, having previously served as Head of Sales and Art Specialist at Christie’s. She advises private, corporate, and government clients across the GCC on integrating art and culture into their business strategies, focusing on collections, artist patronage, and large-scale cultural initiatives. Al-Kutoubi has played key roles in major exhibitions, including Desert X AlUla 2020 and the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2022. In 2023, she led the team for the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale, creating AlMadar, a collaborative effort celebrating Islamic art and heritage. Her work emphasizes cultural placemaking and fostering connections between artists and communities locally, regionally, and internationally.
Heather Ecker
Dr. Heather Ecker (DPhil, Oxford, 2000) is an independent scholar, curator and owner of Viridian Projects, LLC. Over her career, she has worked at eight international museums and taught at Columbia University and the University of Michigan in the field of Islamic art, including contemporary and traditional arts such as calligraphy. Her research includes Mediterranean urban histories, transregional exchanges in the Islamic and Medieval West, antiquarianism in the early modern age, cosmology and astronomy in the Classical and Islamic eras, ornament and design, the evolution of cultural property laws, and the history of art collecting, particularly of Spanish art and architecture.
Rizwan Ahmad
Rizwan Ahmad is a curator and researcher with over 15 years’ experience in cultural, historical, and archaeological projects in the Middle East region. As Head of Research at Barker Langham, he leads a global team overseeing and ensuring the quality of research methodologies, processes, and outputs. Ahmad has worked with leading Gulf museums, including the Oman Across Ages Museum, the National Museum of Qatar, and the Al Shindagha Museum in Dubai, and was previously a curator at the British Museum. In 2023, he led the historic objects workstream for the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale.
Marika Sardar
Dr. Marika Sardar is an experienced museums and heritage professional. She has held positions at prominent institutions such as the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She currently works as a consultant providing curatorial expertise to museums across North America and the Middle East. Her research interests include the arts of India, particularly the Deccan region, as well as trade and intercultural exchanges, and the circulation and collecting of objects. Sardar earned her PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
William Robinson
William Robinson is an expert in Islamic art with over 40 years of experience, primarily at Christie’s. For three decades, he headed the Islamic Art and Carpet Departments, later serving as International Head of Group, World Art. Robinson played a key role in bringing major works to market and achieving world-record prices. Since leaving Christie’s in 2022, he has worked as an independent consultant, focusing on academic research and advice. He has contributed to international conferences, written articles, and received the Joseph V. McMullan Award for carpet studies. Robinson is a member of the advisory board of the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin.
Joanna Chevalier
Joanna Chevalier is an independent curator and art advisor based in Paris. She holds a degree in political science from the American University of Paris and is co-founder of CMS Collection, an incubator for emerging artists. Chevalier served as Artistic Director of the Menart Fair (Paris and Brussels) from 2021 to 2023 and the Beirut Art Fair in 2019.
Amina Diab
Dr. Amina Diab is an art historian and curator specializing in modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art. She holds degrees from Oxford and York universities, with a PhD in partnership with Tate Modern. Diab has contributed to major art events in Saudi Arabia and is currently working on her manuscript on Egyptian modernism.
Faye Behbehani
Faye Behbehani is an independent cultural and heritage consultant. She received her bachelor’s from Bentley College, USA, in 2003 and her master’s in the History of Art and Architecture of the Islamic Middle East from SOAS, University of London, in 2023. She holds the position of Trustee within The Barakat Trust, and is co-director of The Barakat Trust CIC.
Sarah Al Abdali
Artist and curator Sarah Al Abdali explores Arab culture and Islamic philosophy through painting, ceramics, and woodwork. A master’s graduate of the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, she researches Hejazi material culture and exhibits internationally, including at the British Museum and Islamic Arts Biennale.
Wen Wen
Wen received her doctorate in art history and archaeology from the University of Oxford, focusing on Islamic and Chinese ceramics, Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade. She has published her work in journals from the Royal Asiatic Society and the Aga Khan University. She was part of the curatorial team for the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023.
Bilal Badat
Dr. Bilal Badat, archaeologist and art historian, specializes in Islamic calligraphy. A Senior Researcher at Barker Langham, he has contributed to major Saudi cultural projects, including the Islamic Arts Biennale (2023). He earned his doctorate on pedagogy in Islamic calligraphy.
Bill Greenwood
Bill Greenwood is a curator focusing on Islamic art. After years working at major museums in the UK and GCC, he has extensive experience in exhibitions, permanent displays, collections, and editorial. Part of the content team for the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale, he returns as an Assistant Curator.
Technical Details
- Publication Date:
- Sunday, June 1, 2025
- Language:
- English or Arabic
- Format:
- Softcover
- Dimensions:
- 33 x 27
- Weight:
- 0.5
- ISBN:
- 978-614-8035-93-7
- Number of Pages:
- 1005
- Publisher:
- Kaph Books & Diriyah Biennale Foundation