January
Farhad Ahrarnia: Canary in a Coal Mine.
Farhad Ahrarnia: Canary in a Coal Mine explores, in some of the works on view, the idea of being a person able to detect signs of trouble and danger, whose sensitivity makes him vulnerable. Others refer to the idea of being “stitched up,” exploring the tensions that arise when contemporary Iranians attempt to reconcile their own sense of deep-rooted traditions with the force and consequences of modernity. Ahrarnia’s works combine embroidery, digital photography, sewing needles and silver-plated shovels and dustpans. The pointed tips of his silver shovels, like the needles on his embroidered works, encourage viewers to dig into their own histories and discover the many layers of life beneath.
Rose Issa Projects, London
January 18 through February 25.
Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures From the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2).
Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures From the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study of archeological remains only really began in Saudi Arabia in the 1970’s, yet brought—and is still bringing—a wealth of unsuspected treasures to light: temples, palaces adorned with frescoes, monumental sculpture, silver dishes and precious jewelry left in tombs. The exhibition, organized as a series of points along trade and pilgrimage routes, focuses on the region’s rich history as a major center of commercial and cultural exchange, provides both chronological and geographical information about the discoveries made during recent excavations and emphasizes the important role played by this region as a trading center during the past 6000 years. More than 300 works—sculptures, ceramics, jewelry, frescoes—are on display, dating from antiquity to the beginning of the modern period, the majority never before exhibited.
Pergamon Museum, Berlin
January 26 through April 29.
Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam.
Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam is the first major exhibition dedicated to the pilgrimage to Makkah, central to the Muslim faith. It examines the significance of the Hajj as one of the five “pillars of Islam,” exploring its importance for Muslims and looking at how this spiritual and physical journey has evolved through history. The exhibition examines three key strands: the pilgrim’s journey, with an emphasis on the major routes used from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East; the Hajj today, its associated rituals and what the experience means to the pilgrim; and the origins and importance of Makkah, the destination of the Hajj. Exhibits—which include material from collections in Saudi Arabia and from the Khalili Family Trust, as well as from major public and private collections in the uk and around the world—document the long and perilous journey associated with the pilgrimage, gifts offered to the sanctuary as acts of devotion and souvenirs that are brought back from the Hajj. They also include archeological material, manuscripts, textiles, historic photographs and contemporary art. The Hajj has a deep emotional and spiritual significance for Muslims, and continues to inspire a wide range of personal, literary and artistic responses, many of which are explored throughout the exhibition, which also examines the social and political significance of the pilgrimage in relation to global trade and the transmission of ideas.
The British Museum, London
January 26 through April 12.
Karanis Revealed: Discovering the Past and Present of a Michigan Excavation in Egypt Part II.
Discovering the Past and Present of a Michigan Excavation in Egypt is a two-phase exhibition exploring the story of Karanis, a village in the Egyptian countryside southwest of Cairo that was inhabited during Egypt’s Graeco-Roman period. Its excavation was initiated by the University of Michigan in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Part I looks at daily life during the early centuries under the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Part II follows changes that came with the Roman occupation of Egypt and, later, Christianity. The displays include collections of Roman glass, tax rolls on papyrus and the leather breastplate of a Roman soldier.
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Ann Arbor
January 27 through May 6.
February
The Making of a Collection: Islamic Art at the Metropolitan.
The Making of a Collection: Islamic Art at the Metropolitan is a chronological study of some of the museum’s major donors, illuminating the factors and motivations that inspired their collecting habits. The exhibition showcases the principal figures of the first decades of Islamic art collecting in America, a period when as much as half of the museum’s 12,000-object collection was established. From the last quarter of the 19th century to the early 1930’s, objects from the Islamic world were introduced to the American market as exotic treasures and gradually gained public recognition. Europe’s earlier interest in travel to the Middle East caught on in America as well, and at international expositions, Middle Eastern governments erected pavilions in which imported objects and parts of buildings were shown and, afterward, sold to Americans. Oriental art dealers also played a critical role as tastemakers for Islamic art, acting as intermediaries between governments, American collectors, and museums.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
through February 5.
Picturing the Past: Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East.
Picturing the Past: Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East. The West’s perception of the ancient Middle East has been formed by countless engravings, paintings, architectural reconstructions, facsimiles, models, photographs, and computer-aided reconstructions of monuments and sites. This collection of 40 examples of art depicting ancient sites examines how preconceptions, the perceived audience and artistic conventions have informed us about the ancient Middle East and how some of the more imaginary reconstructions have obscured our understanding of the past. Catalog.
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
February 6 through September 2.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures From the Brooklyn Museum uses some 100 pieces of jewelry, statues, coffins and vessels dating from 3600 bce to 400 ce to illustrate the range of strategies and preparations that the ancient Egyptians developed to defeat death and to achieve success in the afterlife. The exhibition explores the belief that death was an enemy that could be vanquished, a primary cultural tenet of ancient Egyptian civilization, and explains the process of mummification, the economics and rituals of memorials, the contents of the tomb, the funeral accessories—differentiated by the class of the deceased—and the idealized afterlife. Exhibits include the vividly painted coffin of a mayor of Thebes, mummies, stone statues, gold jewelry, amulets and canopic jars.
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
February 10 through June 3.
Vaults of Heaven: Visions of Byzantium.
Vaults of Heaven: Visions of Byzantium offers a glimpse into the complex and vivid world of the Byzantine Empire through large-scale contemporary photographs by Turkish photographer Ahmet Ertug?. The images highlight culturally significant unesco heritage sites in present-day Turkey, with a focus on the Karanlik, Tokali and Meryemana churches in the dramatic Cappadocian region of central Anatolia.
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia
through February 12.
Weaving Abstraction: Kuba Textiles and the Woven Art of Central Africa.
Weaving Abstraction: Kuba Textiles and the Woven Art of Central Africa showcases the artistic inventiveness and graphic power of Kuba ceremonial dance skirts within a wide-ranging survey of Kuba design. The textiles of the Kuba kingdom are among the most distinctive and spectacular works of African art. The abstract beauty of these raffia fiber skirts, baskets, prestige panels and other objects captivated the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, influencing modernism, fashion, fabric design and the decorative arts. Emerging in the early 17th century, the Kuba kingdom grew into a powerful and wealthy confederation of 18 different ethnic groups located in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 140 exceptional 19th- and early 20th-century objects are on view, including ceremonial skirts, “velvet” tribute cloths, headdresses and basketry.
Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
through February 12.
Genghis Khan: The Exhibition (2).
Genghis Khan: The Exhibition tells the story of the Mongol warlord who conquered half the known world. Under his rule, the empire grew to be the size of Africa—four times the size of the Roman Empire at its largest. But Genghis is also revered as an innovative leader and statesman who brought unity, stability and religious tolerance to most of Asia and parts of Europe. Highlights of the exhibition include jewelry, ornaments and musical instruments, weapons such as battle axes, scimitars, lances and long- and crossbows, and such other military essentials as steel stirrups and silk underwear.
Field Museum, Chicago
February 24 through September 3.
Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures (2).
Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures challenges conventional perceptions of African art. Bringing together more than 100 masterpieces drawn from collections in six European countries and the United States, it considers eight landmark sculptural traditions from West and Central Africa created between the 12th and early 20th centuries in terms of the individual persons who lie at the origins of the representations. Using materials ranging from humble clay, ubiquitous wood and precious ivory to costly metal alloys, sculptors captured evocative, idealized and enduring likenesses of their individual patrons. Analysis of each of these works considers the historical circumstances and cultural values that inform them; the sculptures are among the only tangible surviving links to generations of leaders who shaped Africa's past before colonialism. Catalog.
Museum Rietberg, Zurich
February 26 through June 3.
Ingenious Innovations: Islamic Science Rediscovered.
Ingenious Innovations: Islamic Science Rediscovered reveals 1000 years of discovery on three continents. From the eighth to the 18th century, Muslim scientists drew upon ideas from various cultures, from Greece to Egypt and India, to produce a fountain of ideas that watered the multicultural roots of modern science and technology, and whose influence is still visible today. Designed to unearth the scientific know-how of an Islamic Golden Age, the exhibition showcases the primary fields of Islamic scientific endeavor, including architecture, arts, astronomy, engineering, exploration, flight, mathematics, medicine, optics and water control.
Tech Museum, San Jose, California
through February 29.
March
Of Gods and Mortals: Traditional Art from India.
In India, art is an integral part of daily life. The importance of paintings, sculpture, textiles and other art forms comprises two basic categories, one related to religious practices and the other to the expression of prestige and social position. This new installation of works from the Museum’s collection features some 28 pieces, principally representing the 1800’s to the present.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
through March 1.
Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley (2).
Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley reviews the arts produced in the Benue River Valley, source of some of the most abstract, dramatic and inventive sculpture in sub-Saharan Africa. The exhibition includes more than 150 objects used in a range of ritual contexts, with genres as varied and complex as the region itself—figurative wood sculptures, masks, figurative ceramic vessels, and elaborate bronze and iron regalia—and explores the history of central Nigeria through the dynamic interrelationships of its peoples and their arts.
National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.
through March 4.
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and the love of reading and writing. The fourth edition of the “LitFest” features more than 100 authors from 25 countries in a program encompassing a variety of genres from literary fiction, politics, philosophy, biography, translation and Islamic art to cookery, travel, sports, horror, crime, fantasy and science fiction. In addition, organizers have planned a large number of master-classes and workshops, a Fringe Festival and a kids’ zone.
Various venue, Dubai, UAE
March 6 through March 10.
Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond.
Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond features more than 60 rare Persian, Mughal Indian and Ottoman Turkish illustrated manuscripts from the 13th to the 18th century from the collections of the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford, as well as related editions of European literature, travel books and maps. These works come from one of the richest periods in the history of the book and shed light on the artistic and literary culture of Persia, showcasing classic Persian tales and revealing the extent to which Persian language and culture was embraced by neighbouring empires, as well as parallels in the work of European writers dating back to Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dante. Visitors will see works by such poets as Nizami, Jami, Firdausi, Rumi and Hafiz, as well as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and The 1001 Nights. A conference on “Persian Cultural Crossroads” will be held April 12–14.
State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
March 9 through July 1.
Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition.
Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition. The Eastern Mediterranean, from Syria across North Africa, comprised the wealthy southern provinces of the Byzantine Empire at the start of the seventh century. By that century's end, the region was central to the emerging Islamic world. This exhibition displays the complex character of the region and its exceptional art and culture during the era of transition—from its role as part of the Byzantine state to its evolving position in the developing Islamic world. Images of authority, religion and especially commerce show the dialogue between established Byzantine and evolving Islamic styles and culture, and the exhibition also addresses iconoclasm as it emerged during that period among the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities of the region. Catalog.
Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York
March 14 through July 8.
Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts (2).
Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts is a pan-Islamic exhibition spanning the eighth through 19th centuries and including more than 240 works of art from three continents: carpets, costumes and textiles, jewelry and other objects of precious metals, miniature paintings and other arts of the book, mosque furnishings and arms and armor. It also includes a small contemporary component: new work by three artists with roots in the Islamic world who have been commissioned to interpret the theme of the exhibition. Gifts of the Sultan introduces viewers to Islamic art and culture with objects of undisputed quality and appeal, viewed through the universal lens of gift giving—a practice that proliferated at the great Islamic courts not only for diplomatic and political purposes but also as expressions of piety, often associated with the construction or enhancement of religious monuments.
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar
March 18 through June 2.
Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion.
Form in Motion marks the
first exhibition in the US to feature the renowned British-Iraqi architect’s product designs in a setting of her own creation. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative architects of the 21st century, Hadid was the first woman to receive the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize. Using complex, fluid geometries and cutting-edge digital design and fabrication technologies, she has advanced the language of contemporary architecture and design. For this exhibition, she has created an all-encompassing environment to display examples of the furniture, objects and footwear she has designed in recent years.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
through March 25.
Revolution and Revolt: Understanding the Forms and Causes of Change.
Revolution and Revolt: Understanding the Forms and Causes of Change is the theme of the annual conference of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. The unprecedented uprisings in the Middle East over the past year have been compared with a wide variety of past revolts, from the French Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall. This conference focuses on the local and regional sources and forces that have fueled the uprisings. In addition to an emphasis on dynamics within and interpretations of the uprisings, presenters will reflect on what the events may mean for the study of the region.
Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics
March 26 through March 28.
April
Looking at History through a Variety of Lenses.
Looking at History through a Variety of Lenses is the theme of the 19th euroclio annual conference professional training and development course, sponsored by the European Association of History Educators and the History Teachers’ Association of Turkey.
www.euroclio.eu.
Hotel Kervansaray Lara, Antalya, Turkey
April 1 through April 7.
The Dawn of Egyptian Art.
The Dawn of Egyptian Art brings together some 175 objects gathered from the Metropolitan and 12 other museums to illustrate the origins and early development of ancient Egyptian art. During the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods (ca. 4000–2650 bce), people living in the Nile Valley began recording their beliefs in paintings, sculptures, and reliefs made for their shrines and tombs. These works of art capture the evolving world-view of these early Egyptians. Images of people, animals, and landscapes, some of which give rise to hieroglyphs, include forms and iconography that remained in use throughout the art of Pharaonic Egypt. Catalog.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
April 10 through August 5.
Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs (4).
Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs features more than 100 artworks, most of which have never been shown in the United States before this tour. These spectacular treasures—more than half of which come from the tomb of King Tutankhamun—include the golden sandals found on the boy king’s mummy; a gold coffinette that held his stomach; golden statues of the gods; and King Tut’s rings, ear ornaments and gold collar. Also showcased are objects associated with the most important rulers of the 30 dynasties that reigned in Egypt over a 2000-year span. The exhibition explores the splendor of the pharaohs, their function in both the earthly and divine worlds, and what “kingship” meant to the Egyptian people. Among the highlights is the largest likeness of King Tut ever discovered: a three-meter (10’) statue of the pharaoh found at the ruins of a funerary temple.
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
through April 15.
Ancient Egypt—Art and Magic: Treasures from the Fondation Gandur pour l’art.
Ancient Egypt—Art and Magic: Treasures from the Fondation Gandur pour l’art brings to life one of the world’s greatest civilizations. The exhibition of 100 stellar works features mummy cases, tomb and temple reliefs, papyrus fragments, alabaster vessels and precious stones. The show spotlights the spiritual qualities of the works, as well as their technical mastery.
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida
through April 29.
Re-Cycle: Strategies for Architecture, City and Planet.
Re-Cycle: Strategies for Architecture, City and Planet is devoted to the architecture of the third millennium and its most innovative practitioners. On show are more than 80 works, including drawings, models and architectural, planning and landscape-design projects, placed in dialogue with the works of artists, designers and videomakers.
Maxxi, Rome
through April 29.
Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (3).
The study of archeological remains only really began in Saudi Arabia in the 1970’s, yet brought—and is still bringing—a wealth of unsuspected treasures to light: temples, palaces adorned with frescoes, monumental sculpture, silver dishes and precious jewelry left in tombs. The exhibition, organized as a series of points along trade and pilgrimage routes, focuses on the region’s rich history as a major center of commercial and cultural exchange, provides both chronological and geographical information about the discoveries made during recent excavations and emphasizes the important role played by this region as a trading center during the past 6000 years. More than 300 works—sculptures, ceramics, jewelry, frescoes—are on display, dating from antiquity to the beginning of the modern period; the majority have never before been exhibited.
Pergamon Museum, Berlin
through April 30.
May
A Revolution of the Heart and Mind.
A Revolution of the Heart and Mind presents work by 10 international artists predominantly from the Middle East. The works on display are made in a variety of media including painting, photography, video and installation with subject matter that expresses a hope for change not rooted in political revolutions but rather in a humanitarian awakening.
JAMM Gallery of Contemporary Art, London
May 1 through May 31.
From Medina to the Jordanian Border: Photographs by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg.
From Medina to the Jordanian Border: Photographs by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg presents landscape images from unpopulated parts of the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia, depicting its
barren landscapes, crossed by trails and unpaved roads that are the remains of pilgrim and caravan routes, and by remnants of the Hijaz Railway, built by Germans and Ottomans in the first decade of the 20th century. The exhibition supplements Roads of Arabia below.
Pergamonmuseum, Berlin
through May 6.
Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs (5).
Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs features more than 100 artworks, most of which have never been shown in the United States before this tour. These spectacular treasures—more than half of which come from the tomb of King Tutankhamun—include the golden sandals found on the boy king´s mummy; a gold coffinette that held his stomach; golden statues of the gods; and King Tut’s rings, ear ornaments and gold collar. Also showcased are objects associated with the most important rulers of the 30 dynasties that reigned in Egypt over a 2000-year span. The exhibition explores the splendor of the pharaohs, their function in both the earthly and divine worlds, and what “kingship” meant to the Egyptian people. Among the highlights is the largest likeness of King Tut ever discovered: a three-meter (10') statue of the pharaoh found at the ruins of a funerary temple.
Pacific Science Center, Seattle
May 24 through January 6.
Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab.
Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab includes more than 50 works by one of the most influential international contemporary artists in his first solo exhibition in the Middle East. The exhibition demonstrates the emotional breadth of Cai’s work, from the intimate to the spectacular, and is inspired by the multilayered history of the artist’s hometown of Quanzhou, China. Saraab (“mirage”) illuminates the long-standing but little-known relationship between China and the Arab world dating back to the ancient maritime Silk Roads. Featuring the artist’s characteristic use of symbols and stories about local history and transnational movements, the exhibition explores the historic and contemporary iconography of the Arabian Gulf and its seafaring culture, as well as the Islamic history of Quanzhou. Works on view also address the ambiguity of Qatar and China’s relationship, as well as Cai’s own creative development. A millennial and symbolic journey, Saraab questions whether there is something illusory or unobtainable about the process of cultural, temporal and geographic translation. Since his youth, Cai had been curious about the traces of Islamic influence in his hometown, including the grand Ashab Mosque and cemeteries with countless Arabic-inscribed tombstones. Quanzhou was a significant maritime port on the ancient Silk Road and a trade hub for silk, porcelain, tea and spices. The city also hosted some of the earliest Muslim missionaries, now buried in the city’s Holy Mausoleum. Saraab offers Cai’s perspective on the complex web of conceptual and material connections between China and the Arab world, of dynamics between historic localities marked as much by the passage of ideas and lived experience as by material trade.
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
through May 26.
June
Painting the Modern in India.
Painting the Modern in India features seven renowned painters who came of age during the height of the movement to free India from British rule. To move from the margins of an art world shaped by the colonial establishment, they organized path-breaking associations and pioneered new approaches to painting, repositioning their own art practices internationally and in relation to the 5000-year history of art in India. These artists created hybrid styles that are an essential component of the broad sweep of art in the 20th century. After independence in 1947, they took advantage of new opportunities in art centers around the world, especially Paris, London and New York; at the same time, they looked deeply into their own artistic heritage, learning from the first exhibition of Indian art in 1948 at Raj Bhavan in Delhi and taking inspiration from ancient sites.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
through June 1.
Paradise Imagined: The Garden in the Islamic and Christian World.
Paradise Imagined: The Garden in the Islamic and Christian World explores the art of gardens and the cross-
fertilization of garden imagery between East and West. Gardens have functioned as spaces of invention, imagination and mythmaking, as well as places of repose and recreation, for different cultures across time. Using the pages of some 22 illustrated herbals, poetry and epic and sacred texts from the museum’s collections, the exhibition focuses on the transmission, exchange and assimilation of garden imagery and metaphors between the Islamic and Christian worlds in the late medieval and early modern eras. The show addresses the image of the garden as an expression of love, power, philosophy, spirituality and knowledge, evoked through word and image.
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
June 30 through September 23.
July
Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond (2).
Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond features more than 60 rare Persian, Mughal Indian and Ottoman Turkish illustrated manuscripts from the 13th to the 18th century as well as related editions of European literature, travel books and maps. These works come from one of the richest periods in the history of the book and shed light on the artistic and literary culture of Persia, showcasing classic Persian tales and revealing the extent to which Persian language and culture influenced neighboring empires, as well as parallels in the work of European writers dating back to Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dante. Visitors will see works by such writers as Nizami, Jami, Firdausi, Rumi and Hafiz, as well as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and The 1001 Nights. A conference on “Persian
Cultural Crossroads” will be held
April 12–14.
Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, England
July 2.
Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country.
Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country tells true stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that affirm the important role Arab–Americans have played in the United States throughout its history, contributing greatly to society, fighting and dying in every us war since the American Revolution, defending the Constitution and supporting the nation’s democratic form of government. The exhibition highlights service in the armed forces, the diplomatic service and the Peace Corps. Personal narratives highlight Arab–American men and women of different national and religious backgrounds.
Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan
through July 12.
September
Gems of Rajput Painting.
Gems of Rajput Painting features the museum’s superb collection of paintings made for the princes of Rajasthan and the Punjab hills (known as “Rajputs”). The kingdoms of these art-loving princes shared a common elite culture, though, by the early 1700’s, each court had developed its own distinct painting style. The exhibition represents four of Rajput painting’s central themes: heroic narratives, women and romance, Krishna and Hindu devotion, and courtly life.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
through September 3.
Pergamon: Panorama of the Ancient Metropolis.
Pergamon: Panorama of the Ancient Metropolis displays a wide variety of sculptures, mosaics, coins, ceramics and metal devices—along with a monumental 360° panorama—to present a vivid picture of life in the glittering ancient city, home of the famous Great Altar, with its depiction of the gods’ battle against the giants. Most of the 450 exhibits, presented in their original architectural and functional contexts, have never been displayed before. Paintings, historical photographs and archival documents provide insight into the history of the discovery and research of the site.
Pergamonmuseum, Berlin
through September 30.
October
Istanbul Design Biennial 2012: Imperfection.
Imperfection explores its subject in urban, architectural, interior, industrial, graphic, fashion, textile and new media contexts. Exhibitions, installations, workshops, seminars and presentations take place throughout the city, making it a place to engage with rapid urban, social and cultural change. This inaugural biennial celebrates Istanbul’s distinctive creative qualities while also encapsulating a wider discussion about design in the contemporary world. www.iksv.org.
Istanbul
October 13 through December 16.
November
Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern.
Jewels, Gems, and Treasures: Ancient to Modern examines the various roles and meanings associated with a wide range of gem materials. While today in the West, diamond, pearl, emerald, sapphire and ruby are regarded as the most precious of materials, such other substances as feathers, claws, mica appliqués, coral and rock crystal have commanded equal attention in other times and places, sometimes believed to guard their wearers from danger or malevolent forces. The 75 exhibits are drawn mostly from the museum’s gem collection, including a dozen pieces acquired on archeological expeditions in Egypt and the Sudan in the early 1900’s.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
through November 25.