Two Decades of Art and Heritage: Celebrating 20 Years of The Jameel Gallery at the V&A

This July, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in South Kensington reached a significant milestone, marking two decades since the grand opening of The Jameel Gallery. Established in July 2006, the gallery serves as the museum’s dedicated home for the arts of the Islamic Middle East, housing a breathtaking collection that bridges the divide between historical preservation and contemporary creative expression. Over the past twenty years, this space has evolved from a repository of artifacts into a vibrant hub of research, public engagement, and living history. To commemorate this anniversary, the V&A has spent the year hosting a series of new displays, public workshops, conferences, and collaborative events, reflecting on the gallery’s profound impact on the global museum landscape.

The Jameel Gallery currently serves as a sanctuary for approximately 400 objects, spanning a geographical reach from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the vast territories of Central Asia. The collection is remarkably diverse, showcasing the sophisticated craftsmanship of centuries past through ceramics, intricate carpets, delicate metalwork, ornate woodwork, glass, and illuminated manuscripts. These objects, dating from the 8th century to the modern day, are presented to the public free of charge, ensuring that this rich cultural heritage remains accessible to everyone.

The creation of the gallery was made possible through the generous support of the Jameel family, marking the inception of a long-standing and productive relationship between the family and the V&A. This partnership deepened significantly in 2009 with the introduction of the Jameel Prize, an international award designed to recognize the interplay between contemporary artistic practice and the deep-seated traditions of Islamic art. Throughout 2026, with the continued support of Community Jameel, the museum has utilized the 20th-anniversary celebrations to reaffirm its commitment to these traditions, inviting the public to witness how history continues to resonate with modern audiences.

A Year of Living Craft and Celebration

A central theme of the anniversary year has been the elevation of "living traditions." By bringing contemporary artisans into the gallery space to demonstrate their skills alongside the historic objects that inspired them, the V&A has sought to bridge the chronological gap between the medieval past and the present.

In May, the museum’s celebration coincided with London Craft Week, featuring a highly anticipated appearance by Egyptian textile artist Hany Abd El-Kader. He provided a live demonstration of khayamiyya, the intricate art of cotton appliqué, in a sold-out talk introduced by Seif El Rashidi of the Barakat Trust. The event was not merely observational; a select group of attendees participated in a hands-on workshop, learning the delicate techniques required to create their own pieces of khayamiyya. This focus on the "maker" as much as the "made" has become a hallmark of the gallery’s recent programming.

The official anniversary month of July was marked by a deeper intellectual inquiry into the role of Islamic art within modern institutions. On July 17, the museum hosted "The Islamic Art Museumscape," a conference that invited experts to take the pulse of global museum collections. The discussions centered on how the interpretation of Islamic art has evolved over the last twenty years and how current themes, trends, and challenges are shaping the curation of these collections today. Later in the month, the V&A hosted a "Friday Late" event in partnership with Shubbak, titled "Body as a Vessel," which focused on celebrating contemporary Arab and SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) creativity.

As the celebrations continued into September, the museum highlighted the connection between historical techniques and modern design during the London Design Festival. Artist Aziza Kadyri unveiled a new installation that weaves through the arches of the gallery, serving as a visual dialogue with the historic space. Her collaborator, the esteemed embroidery artist Yulduz Mukhiddinova, traveled from Uzbekistan to lead workshops on traditional suzani embroidery. These sessions, held both in the gallery and during the "Awakenings" Friday Late event, proved incredibly popular, with approximately 80 participants learning the traditional stitches from a master of the craft, accompanied by a performance from Uzbek singer-songwriter Laylo.

Two Decades of Curatorial Evolution

Reflecting on the milestone, Mariam Rosser-Owen, Curator of the Middle East at the V&A’s Asia Department, noted that the museum is privileged to hold one of the world’s most significant collections of Islamic art. She emphasized that the history of these holdings is as compelling as the objects themselves. The collection began in the 1850s, concurrent with the founding of the museum, with the specific intent of improving British design through exposure to global craftsmanship. Over the following century, the collection grew, eventually inspiring prominent British figures, including William Morris, whose own work was deeply influenced by the patterns and techniques found in Islamic art.

The provenance of these pieces is supported by extensive archival holdings, which provide vital context for how these treasures reached London. While the space currently occupied by the gallery was first opened in 1950, it required significant modernization by the early 2000s. The 2006 renovation, spurred by the Jameel family’s generosity, transformed the space into a world-class environment that finally allowed the collection to be displayed with the dignity and clarity it deserved.

For Fady Jameel, Family Ambassador of Community Jameel and Chairman and Founder of Art Jameel, the gallery is more than just a room of artifacts. It is an anchor for the family’s long-standing commitment to the preservation of Islamic art. Over the past two decades, the gallery has become a vital platform for research and public engagement. He noted that the partnership with the V&A is rooted in the belief that historic traditions are not static; rather, they are evolving expressions of culture. By supporting these programs, the family aims to ensure that traditional arts and craftsmanship remain relevant and continue to reach diverse new audiences for generations to come.

Five Essential Objects for the Modern Visitor

For those visiting the gallery to mark the anniversary, the museum has highlighted five standout objects that define the scope of the collection. At the heart of the gallery sits The Ardabil Carpet, dating back to 1539–1540. Created for the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil, Iran, it remains the world’s oldest dated carpet. Its display is a testament to the museum’s commitment to preservation; it is housed in a central case that allows visitors to view it as it was intended to be seen—on the floor. To protect its vibrant colors, the carpet is illuminated only for ten-minute intervals on the hour and half-hour.

Other treasures include a magnificent rock crystal ewer, carved in Cairo between 1000 and 1050 for the Fatimid rulers, featuring intricate depictions of birds of prey and palmette scrolls. Visitors should also look for the towering minbar (pulpit) made for Sultan Qaitbay in Cairo, a masterpiece of geometric woodworking composed of hundreds of individual pieces of ivory and wood.

The gallery entrance is marked by a 15th-century lustreware bowl from Málaga, Spain, which features a ship rendered in a glaze that shimmers as the viewer moves. Finally, the gallery now hosts a selection of 20th-century Iranian prints, a 2023 gift that includes work by Nasser Ovissi, a pioneer of the influential Saqqakhaneh movement. These prints, which date from the 1950s to the 1970s, showcase the pre-revolutionary modern art movement in Iran and provide a modern counterpoint to the more ancient works in the collection.

Looking Toward the Future

The celebration of the 20th anniversary does not signal an end to the gallery’s activities. In November 2026, the museum will participate in Islamic Art Week by hosting a demonstration by artist Mariam Ashraf. She will showcase the complex art of plaster carving—the very technique utilized to create the decorative windows set with colored glass that are such a striking feature of the 19th-century Cairo displays in the gallery. This demonstration will be live-streamed, allowing a global audience to witness the intricate processes behind these historic architectural features.

Two decades after its opening, The Jameel Gallery continues to serve as a vital link between the past and the present. By bringing together extraordinary objects, living craft, and new artistic voices, the V&A ensures that the legacy of Islamic art remains a dynamic part of the contemporary cultural landscape. The Jameel Gallery (Room 42) remains open to the public at the V&A South Kensington, with free admission and no booking required for visitors wishing to explore this remarkable collection.