Iraq-born artist Mehdi Moutashar and Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum have been announced as joint winners of the Jameel Prize 5. It is the first time two finalists have been awarded the prize, which is aimed at artists and designers who have been inspired by Islamic tradition. Fady Jameel, president of Art Jameel, presented Moutashar and Tabassum with the £25,000 prize during a ceremony at the V&A in London.
Tabassum won the judging panel over with her expressive design for the Bait ur Rouf mosque, built in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2012. Inspired by Sultanate mosque architecture, the mosque ‘breathes’ through perforated brick walls, keeping the prayer hall ventilated and cool while also creating entrancing patterns in light. ‘Light is a beautiful material to work with,’ says Tabassum. ‘If you can use it properly – how you bring in the light, the openings and apertures – I think it can make it spiritual and very contemplative.’
Installation view of Jameel Prize 5 joint winner Mehdi Moutashar’s work at the V&A, London. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Moutashar, meanwhile, received the award for his minimalist abstract works, which have roots in Islamic geometry. Now based in Arles, the artist left Iraq in the late 1960s and settled in Paris, where he encountered forms of minimalism, including geometric abstraction, which he integrated with the Islamic traditions of his homeland.
Established in 2009 after the renovation of the V&A’s Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art, the Jameel Prize is awarded every two years in partnership with Art Jameel. Previous winners include Turkish fashion label Dice Kayek, Pakistani artist Ghulam Mohammad, Algerian sculptor Rachid Koraïchi, and Iran-born artist Afruz Amighi.
An exhibition of work by the Jameel Prize 5 winners and six other shortlisted artists and designers – including Kamrooz Aram, Hayv Kahraman, Hala Kaiksow, Naqsh Collective, Younes Rahmoun and Wardha Shabbir – runs until 25 November at the V&A. The show has been curated by Tim Stanley, senior curator of the V&A’s great historical collection from the Islamic Middle East, with Salma Tuqan, the V&A’s curator of contemporary art and design from the region.
INFORMATION
An exhibition of work by the Jameel Prize 5 finalists is on view until 25 November. For more information, visit the V&A website
ADDRESS
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
-
This photo series delves into the surreal, ritualistic world of Lithuania’s long hair competitionFrancesca Allen’s ‘Plaukai’ documents the annual contest, which speaks to the folkloric significance of long hair in Lithuania
-
This new London exhibition explores the legacy of Centre Pompidou architect Richard Rogers‘Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings’ – opening tomorrow at Sir John Soane’s Museum – examines Rogers’ high-tech icons, which proposed a democratic future for architecture
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Fouquet’s New York: a lush, urban cocoon for the 21st centurySet in the heart of Tribeca, Fouquet’s New York balances French-inspired refinement and cosiness
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi YatesLondon has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in LondonAlexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio VoltaireA look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery WeekendAs 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
