Designed Islamic Arts Biennale

With a scenography designed by OMA / Iyad Alsaka and Kaveh Dabiri, the first edition of the Islamic Biennale has opened in Jeddah, hosted by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. Artworks are displayed over 120,000 square meters of exhibition spaces, taking over the Western Hajj Terminal, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and winner of the Aga Khan Award in 1983.

Under the title Awwal Bait, which translates as First House, the biennale explores how Islam’s most sacred sites – Makkah, the destination of the annual pilgrimage, and Madinah, the place where Prophet Mohamed is buried – inspire Muslims around the world to create a sense of belonging in their home, bringing unity in a plural world. Iyad Alsaka, OMA Partner: “This exhibition is an opportunity to discover and learn about Islamic culture. More than 200 ancient objects are on display, some of which have never been seen by the larger public. In addition, there are artworks by contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa to countries like the UK and South Africa, giving a new dimension to the timeless rituals of Islam.”

The OMA-designed scenography divides the exhibition space into two complementary parts:

(1) A choreographed trajectory through a sequence of newly built galleries allows visitors a progressive sense of orientation as they move from one room to another. Inspired by the concept of the Qiblah – the direction Muslims face when they pray – the exhibits manifest gradually in a journey from darkness to light, starting in a dimly lit room filled with 17th-century astrolabes – used to calculate the Qiblah – and concluding in the bright space hosting an installation which incorporates the First Saudi Door of the Ka`bah in Makkah, installed during the reign of King Abdul Aziz.

(2) Under the terminal’s canopy, a desert-like landscape alludes to the journey of Hijrah – Prophet Mohamed’s journey from Makkah to Madinah. Slopes and slanted walls of various heights, arranged in relation to the geometry of the existing structure, have been built to display the artworks, creating a sense of exploration throughout the visit. Two freestanding pavilions act as reference points in the open landscape, exhibiting artefacts from Makkah and Madinah. In contrast to the rough atmosphere outside, the exhibits in the two pavilions are embedded in a bright, diaphanous screen wrapping the perimeter of the walls.

Independent from the theme of the Biennale, a separate gallery named AlMadar, or The Orbit, features items from twelve local and international institutions including Kuwait’s Al Sabah Collection of Islamic art, together with an exhibition that pays homage to the Hajj Terminal – both celebrating their 40th anniversary.

The exhibition design has been led by OMA Partner Iyad Alsaka together with Associate Kaveh Dabiri and Project Architect Saskia Simon. The project is OMA’s first built work in Saudi Arabia and marks a new chapter in the office’s long-standing involvement in the country. OMA’s portfolio in the Middle East includes projects such as Qatar National Library, the headquarters of the Qatar Foundation and Concrete at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai. OMA’s think tank AMO has published extensively on the rapid urbanization of the region in two special issues of Volume magazine, Al Manakh (2007) and Al Manakh: Gulf Continued (2010).

The curatorial team of the Islamic Arts Biennale comprises Dr. Saad Alrashid, Dr. Julian Raby, Sumayya Vally and Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr. The exhibition will run until 23 April 2023.

第一屆伊斯蘭藝術雙年展在吉達開幕，由大都會建築事務所的Iyad Alsaka 和 Kaveh Dabiri 操刀設計展館，迪里耶雙年展基金會主辦。藝術品在超過120,000 平方公尺的「西朝覲航廈」展出，這個航廈建築則是由 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) 設計。

本屆雙年展以 「Awwal Bait（意為第一屋）」為標題，探討了伊斯蘭教最神聖的地方，朝聖之地「麥加」和先知穆罕默德的埋葬地「麥地那」。期望激發世界各地的穆斯林創造一種家的歸屬意識，在多元化的世界中團結起來。OMA 合夥人 Iyad Alsaka：「這次展覽是一個發現和了解伊斯蘭文化的機會，展出了 200 多件古代物品，其中一些從未公開。 此外，還有來自沙特阿拉伯、中東、北非國家以及英國、南非等國的當代藝術，為伊斯蘭文化帶來一個新的維度。」

OMA 的設計將展覽空間分為兩個互補的部分：

(1) 通過畫廊的精心設計的動線，讓訪客從一個房間移動到另一個房間時，有一種漸進的方向感，如同穆斯林祈禱時面對的方向，這是受到朝拜概念的啟發。展品從黑暗到光明的旅程中逐漸顯現，動線由一個昏暗的房間開始，房間裡擺滿了 17 世紀的星盤，用來計算朝拜的方向，最後在明亮的空間內有一個裝置，其中一件藝術品包含麥加克爾白聖殿的第一扇沙特門，安裝於阿卜杜勒阿齊茲國王統治時期。

(2) 在航廈的棚頂之下，沙漠般的景觀暗示著「希吉拉之旅」，即是先知穆罕默德及信徒遭受迫害，從麥加到麥地那的旅程。不同高度的斜坡和傾斜的牆壁，根據現有結構的幾何形佈置，用來展示藝術品，在整個參觀過程中引導眾人探索。兩個獨立的展館作為主要展場，展示來自麥加和麥地那的手工藝品，藝術品鑲嵌在明亮、透明的方塊中，並環繞著牆壁做展示，與外部粗獷的沙漠環境形成鮮明對比。