Dates revealed for second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah

The first biennale was titled “Awwal Bait” and it attracted more than 600,000 visitors. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 June 2024
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Dates revealed for second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah

DUBAI: The Diriyah Biennale Foundation’s second Islamic Arts Biennale is scheduled to take place from January 25 to May 25, 2025, at the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

The event is the first and only biennial dedicated to the arts of Islamic civilization.

The first biennale was titled “Awwal Bait” and attracted more than 600,000 visitors. The second event in 2025 will continue its exploration of themes by showcasing historical artifacts alongside contemporary art, including site-specific installations.

The directors of the second event are Amin Jaffer, Julian Raby, Abdulrahman Azzam and Muhannad Shono.

Jaffer, whose academic and curatorial work is focused on the meeting of European and Asian cultures, will return to his role as director of the Al-Thani Collection.

Raby, a scholar and former lecturer in Islamic art and architecture at the University of Oxford, also served on the curatorial team of the first Islamic Arts Biennale.

Azzam, an author and historian, served as senior adviser to the Al-Madar exhibition and forum during the first biennale. 

Saudi artist Shono, whose work deals with questions of spirituality and the role of imagination in shaping reality, will serve as contemporary art curator.

The expanded curatorial team includes Masa Al-Kutoubi, Rizwan Ahmad, Heather Ecker, Marika Sardar, Joanna Chevalier, Amina Diab, Sarah Al-Abdali, Bilal Badat, Faye Behbehani and Wen Wen.

With a total area of more than a 110,000 square meters, with 12,000 square meters of dedicated exhibition space, the biennale takes visitors on a journey through the objects, rituals, ideas and aesthetics that constitute Islamic arts in all its forms.

The Western Hajj Terminal has been repurposed as a cultural venue by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture.

The site holds deep significance for Muslims around the world, as millions of travelers pass through the airport each year to make the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Makkah.


Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

Updated 27 January 2026
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Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

  • Rihanna and Brigitte Macron among attendees at show
  • Design part of new director Jonathan Anderson’s vision

DUBAI/ PARIS: Model Mona Tougaard reportedly turned heads in a bridal-inspired look on the Christian Dior runway during the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.

The runway star, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, wore a sculptural white gown with a one-shoulder silhouette and layered petal-like appliques cascading from the bodice to the full skirt.

The asymmetrical bodice featured draped detailing across the torso, while the skirt flared into a voluminous, floor-length shape.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

The look was finished with oversized floral statement earrings that echoed the dress’s petal motif.

The floral elements echoed the wider vision of Dior’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson, who drew inspiration from nature and his love of ceramics for his first Haute Couture collection since being appointed to the role.

The 41-year-old faces the rare challenge of overseeing all three fashion lines at the house — women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture — becoming the first designer to do so since Christian Dior himself.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Just days after presenting his latest men’s collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the Northern Irish designer returned with his first couture offering.

The collection featured floral motifs on fabrics or as accessories, while sculptural bulbous dresses were inspired by the work of Kenya-born ceramicist Magdelene Odundo.

“When you copy nature, you always learn something,” Anderson declared in his show notes, which compared Haute Couture to a living ecosystem that is “evolving, adapting, enduring.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Other noteworthy pieces included dresses with spherical birdcage-inspired silhouettes, while other models wore vest tops with their dresses gathered around their waists.

The front row at the Rodin Museum reflected the scale of anticipation surrounding Anderson’s couture debut. France’s first lady Brigitte Macron arrived early, while Lauren Sanchez Bezos swept in shortly after.

Actor Parker Posey twirled briefly in a trench-style dress, playing to the room before settling in.

Then the space fell into a collective pause as celebrities and editors alike waited for Rihanna. When the pop star finally took her seat, the lights dropped and the show began.

Before the show, Anderson admitted in an interview with the Business of Fashion website that he previously thought couture was “irrelevant,” adding that he never really “understood the glamour behind it.”

“Now, I feel like I’m doing a Ph.D. in couture,” he explained.