The Best Islamic Arts Events and Exhibitions of 2011

The Grand Reopening at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gallery 456: Moroccan Court / Patti Cadby Birch Court / New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, opening November 1, 2011, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Salsali Private Museum officially opened

Mr. Ramin Salsali / The Courtesy of the Salsali Private Museum (Photography by: Russ Kientsch)

A major exhibition of Persian manuscripts at the State Library of Victoria

Bahram Gur visits the lady of Khwarazm in the Blue Pavilion, from Nava’i, Sab‘a Sayyara, 1553. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford / Courtesy State Library of Victoria

Treasures of Islamic Manuscript Painting from the Morgan

Mosque Qur’an Shiraz / 1580 / MS M.532 (I), fol. 2r. Pur, chased by Pierpont Morgan, before 1913, Photography: G Haber / Courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum

Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture

V&A, Le Salon, 2009, by Hassan Hajjaj / © V&A Images

LACMA Presents Groundbreaking International Exhibition of Islamic Art

Lamp, Egypt or Syria, late 14th century. Glas, free blown and tooled, applied handles, enameled and gilded. H 12 5/8 in. (32 cm); diam. 10in. (25,5 cm). Musée du Louvre, Paris (OA 7568), Bequest of Baronne Salomon de Rothschild, 1922 / Photo © Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, NY (ART412082), by Hervé Lewandowski

UAE at Biennale di Venezia features “Second Time Around”

Photo: Installation photography of the UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2011 /  © seeing things photography

Islamic metalwork masterpieces from Walters Art Museum

Artist: Anonymous (Egyptian or Syrian), 18th century (Early Modern), engraved bronze, 10 13/16 x 6 7/8 x 1/4 in. (27.5 x 17.5 x 0.6 cm) / Image Courtesy of Walters Art Museum

The Genius of the Orient: Modern Europe and the Arts of Islam

Handicraft by Jules Vieillard et Cie, Vase with Dish (according to the Rothschild Vase), around 1878. Porcelain and enamel on round relief, H. 57 cm; W. 41 cm. Paris, Musée d’Orsay. © RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara

Silk Oasis on the Silk Road, 2011, Installation shot / Photo: Jill Kitchener

Rachid Koraïchi - the Winner of the Jameel Prize 2011

Rachid Koraichi: Les Maitres Invisibles (The Invisible Masters), 2008 / Photo: V&A images

Pakistan’s Award Winning Calligraphers Exhibited in Jeddah

Irfan Ahmed Khan, 60 x 44 cm, ink_on_paper / Image: Courtesy of Consulate General of Pakistan

‘The Brit Pak’, the Best of Pakistani Contemporary Art at Mica Gallery

NURJAN, “Alif Laam Meem”, Swarovski crystals, plexiglass and granite, 100x70x30 cm, 2011 / Image: Courtesy of Mica Gallery

Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East

Hassan Massoudy / Untitled,_1990,_Ink_and_pigments_on_paper,_29.5_x_21_.7_inches. / © Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery

An Exclusive Group Show Dedicated to Middle Eastern Modern and Contemporary Art at Artspace Gallery

Kamal Boullata, Kun fa-Yakun, 2009-(Be, and it is), Acrylic on canvas, 150x150cm / Image: Courtesy of Artspace Gallery

Tales From the Thousand and One Nights. Islamic art from the collections of the Moravian Gallery

Photo: Archive of the Moravian Gallery in Brno / Courtesy of the Moravian Gallery

The Third Line at Abu Dhabi Art

Youssef Nabil, You Never Left V, 2010, Hand coloured silver gelatin print, 39 x 27 cm each / Image: Courtesy of The Third Line and The Artist