About the 2025 Islamic Art Biennale

By juxtaposing historical objects from Islamic cultures with contemporary art, the Biennale explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making.

The exhibition presents a dialogue between historic and contemporary works within the galleries and in outdoor spaces. The Islamic Arts Biennale takes place at the Aga Khan Award–winning Western Hajj Terminal at 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.

The Western Hajj Terminal was designed by the world-renowned international architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in the late 1970s, and opened to pilgrims in the early 1980s.

The Biennale’s location strengthens its connection to Islamic heritage and faith.

About the Theme “And All That is in Between”

“And All That Is In Between” is part of a verse that appears several times in the Noble Quran: “And God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in between.”

It describes the absolute and all-encompassing majesty of God’s creation as perceived and experienced by humankind.

Across five exhibition halls and outdoor spaces, and with more than 500 objects and contemporary artworks on view, the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale explore how we endeavor to comprehend the wonder of what the divine has brought into being.

The Islamic Arts Biennale will consist of seven unique
components including AlBidayah (“The Beginning”), AlMadar (“The Orbit”), AlMuqtani (“Homage”), AlMidhallah (“The Canopy”), AlMukarramah (“The Honored”), AlMunawwarah (“The Illuminated”), and AlMusalla Prize spread out through different galleries and outdoor spaces, across100,000 square meters of dedicated exhibition space.