Jameel Arts Centre hosts the sixth edition (titled ‘Poetry to Politics’) of the Jameel Prize, the first to have a focus on contemporary design. The exhibition debuted at the V&A in London, and has toured to Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago, Chile and El Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Franklin Rawson in Argentina, before arriving “home” in the UAE.

‘Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics’ features works by the eight finalists of the sixth edition of the prize: Golnar Adili, Hadeyeh Badri, Kallol Datta, Farah Fayyad, Ajlan Gharem, Sofia Karim, Jana Traboulsi and Bushra Waqas Khan.⁠

Artist Ajlan Gharem was announced as the winner in September 2021, chosen by an esteemed, independent jury for his architectural installation ‘Paradise Has Many Gates’ (2015).⁠

‘Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics’ jury members are: Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A (Chair); Alice Rawsthorn, design critic and author; Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, writer, researcher and founder of Barjeel Art Foundation; Mehdi Moutashar, artist and joint winner of Jameel Prize 5; and Marina Tabassum, architect and joint winner of Jameel Prize 5.

Founded in 2009, the Jameel Prize is a collaboration between the V&A and Art Jameel and is the world’s leading award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition. The sixth edition is curated by the V&A’s Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East, Rachel Dedman. 

A V&A Exhibition – Touring the World. 

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Image credit: Ajlan Gharem, Paradise Has Many Gates – Daytime, 2015. Photograph: Ajlan Gharem.