The Islamic Arts Biennale 2025
And All That Is In Between

Image © Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

2025-2025

Jeddah has been a cultural meeting place for centuries, connecting east and west, and facilitating a flow of people, trade, faith and ideas. A fitting location, then, for the second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, held from 25 January to 25 May 2025 at the Aga Khan Western Hajj Terminal, at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Units

144

Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale – titled And All That Is In Between – presented a unique opportunity to bring together Islamic artworks and objects from all over the world, from a wide variety of museums and other institutions.

Focusing on the theme of faith, the Biennale explored how it is ‘experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making’ – both in the past and today. Led by Artistic Directors Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, alongside Saudi artist Muhannad Shono as Curator of Contemporary Art, the exhibition explored ways in which cultures from around the world interact and endure, in a dialogue framed by the context of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing cultural transformation.

The scale of the second edition was more ambitious than its predecessor, spanning seven themed areas across 110,000 square meters of dedicated exhibition space. It brought together loans from a network of Saudi artists and institutions, along with an world-class line-up of international participants, including the Musée du Louvre, Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, Timbuktu, and the Manuscripts Institute of Türkiye, Istanbul – plus many more.

These include pieces from the Al Thani Collection, previously displayed in Goppion showcases at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris, and items from major international museums like the Louvre, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and others.

Installation view of the AlMuqtani component of the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale.

Image © Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation

Goppion created 144 display cases for this auspicious occasion. The cases were provided for both historical and contemporary objects loaned by prestigious international collections, across galleries 3, 4 and 5. Included were pieces from the Al Thani Collection, previously displayed in Goppion showcases at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris, and items from major international museums such as the MET, the V&A, and others.

OMA designed the scenography for the Islamic Biennale. For this project, Goppion collaborated with BLACK, a global leader in producing and managing cultural projects.

Installation view of the AlMuqtani component of the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale

Image © Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation

Working to a concept by exhibition designer Colin Morris of Colin Morris Associates, Goppion created a combination of freestanding, wall-mounted and table cases. The project was delivered in just six months: from Colin Morris’s concept design, thru engineering, production and assembly of the cases in a production unit dedicated exclusively to this project.

A flexible, linear and clean design aesthetic was essential to the project’s success. For example, the vertical display cases (both freestanding and wall-mounted) were equipped with flexible interior fittings such as vertical or inclined panels to accommodate different types of objects.

Especially noteworthy pieces included a 6-meter-long horizontal table display case, with a seamless glass hood made from jointless single sheets, which displayed an exceptional loan from the Vatican Apostolic Library: a huge map of the Nile. Dating to the late 17th century, the map is based on the work of famous Ottoman traveler, Evliya Çelebi, who crossed Egypt, from Cairo to the sources of the Nile, in 1683. This extraordinary piece of cartography – now painstakingly restored – was acquired in 1739 in Constantinople by the Lebanese librarian, Giuseppe Alemanni, who later became the Vatican Library’s Prefect.

CEO Alessandro Goppion with the Map of the Nile.

As usual, Goppion’s use of state-of-the art technology placed equal importance to preventive conservation and elegant design. All display cases featured high airtightness and passive RH (relative humidity) stabilization, with provisions for active stabilization as well.

Goppion was honored to be part of the 2025 initiative in Jeddah, to participate in the showcasing of leading global artists, and support the Biennale’s broader mission to foster cultural exchange and understanding between Saudi Arabia and international communities.

Installation view of the AlMadar component of the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale.

Image © Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation