6 Artists Pushing Islamic Culture Forward

In recent years, a growing number of contemporary artists have been turning to their work as a way to celebrate and reinterpret Islamic culture. Drawing inspiration from faith, ritual, architecture, and centuries-old artistic traditions, these artists explore what it means to engage with Islamic heritage in a modern context. Through photography, sound installations, sculpture, and multimedia works, they highlight the richness and diversity of Muslim cultures while reflecting on themes of spirituality, identity, memory, and community. By blending historical references with contemporary perspectives, these artists are not only preserving cultural narratives but also presenting them in ways that resonate with global audiences today.

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Wael Shawky

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky is known for creating films, performances, and storytelling projects that explore ideas of national, religious, and artistic identity. Drawing on years of research, his work often blends history with contemporary culture, sometimes in unexpected ways—such as asking Bedouin children to reenact the construction of an airport runway in the desert or organizing a heavy metal concert in a rural Egyptian village. Shawky frequently mixes fact and fiction, spirituality and imagination, most notably in his acclaimed puppet trilogy Cabaret Crusades: The Horror Show Files (2010), Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo (2012), and Cabaret Crusades: The Secrets of Karbala (2015), which reimagines the medieval conflicts between Muslims and Christians through marionette performances.

In another project, Al Araba Al Madfuna, child actors recount poetic myths that celebrate important cultural narratives from the past. For the Egyptian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, Shawky presented Drama 1882, a filmed musical play he directed, choreographed, and composed, inspired by Egypt’s nationalist Urabi Revolution (1879–1882). Born in Alexandria in 1971, Shawky studied at the University of Alexandria before earning a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001, and his work has since been exhibited at major institutions worldwide, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Serpentine Galleries, and MoMA PS1.

Dima Srouji

Palestinian architect and visual artist Dima Srouji explores cultural heritage as a space for collective healing, using her work to imagine new ways of reconnecting with endangered histories. Working with both physical and ephemeral materials from Palestine, Srouji treats each object as an emotional and symbolic element that helps piece together fragmented narratives. Her projects often involve close collaborations with archaeologists, anthropologists, sound designers, stone masons, and glassblowers, blending research with artistic practice. She was the Jameel Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum between 2022 and 2023 and currently leads the studio Underground Palestine within the MA City Design program at the Royal College of Art. Srouji’s work is held in major international collections including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Sharjah Art Foundation. She has also exhibited widely at major global exhibitions and institutions, including the Venice Biennale, the Sharjah Biennial, and the Islamic Arts Biennale, while her writing has appeared in publications such as The Architectural Review and The Avery Review. She currently serves on the executive committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.

Joe Namy

Lebanese artist and musician Joe Namy, based in London, explores sound and its relationship to history, culture, and the built environment. His practice examines themes such as the gender dynamics of bass, the migration of musical instruments, and the complexities of translation—whether between languages, from musical scores to sound, or from rhythm to movement. His latest work, Cosmic Breath, was presented as part of an exhibition in Mecca and features an installation of 18 loudspeakers that play in powerful synchrony while revealing subtle differences in the tone and timing of the adhan, or call to prayer, across 18 locations in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The work traces the sonic history of the adhan, drawing inspiration from sources ranging from a late 19th-century recording at the Great Mosque of Mecca to the first mosque in Singapore to introduce loudspeakers. Alongside Namy’s installation is Epiphamania: The First Light (2011–2023) by Nora Alissa, a black-and-white projection series documenting pilgrims at the Great Mosque of Mecca through blurred images discreetly filmed through the artist’s clothing. Presented within a dark scenographic environment by Office for Metropolitan Architecture, the pairing of the two works creates an immersive atmosphere where sound and shadow merge, making the experience both intimate and contemplative. Namy’s ongoing projects also explore the history and resonance of opera houses across eleven countries in the MENA region and include activations of the archive of pioneering electronic composer Halim El-Dabh.

Haroon Gunn-Salie

Haroon Gunn-Salie (Cape Town, 1989) is an artist whose multidisciplinary practice explores how art can create meaningful social and political dialogue. Working across sculpture, installation, and collaborative processes, Gunn-Salie focuses on community engagement and historical memory, often highlighting stories of resistance and collective struggle. His work has been presented in major international exhibitions, including the New Museum Triennial, Frieze Sculpture, and the Venice Biennale, where he represented South Africa in 2015, as well as solo exhibitions at institutions such as Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. In his latest installation Amongst Men (2014/2023), 1,000 kufi caps hang from the ceiling at varying heights, casting ghostly shadows on the floor. The work pays tribute to South African imam and anti-apartheid activist Abdullah Haron, who died in police custody in 1969 after being arrested and beaten by Cape Town authorities. Gunn-Salie reimagines Haron’s funeral—attended by around 40,000 mourners in defiance of apartheid violence—through the suspended white caps traditionally worn by Muslim men across Africa and Asia, each one individually embroidered to represent a distinct presence within the crowd. The installation is poignantly displayed alongside an archaeological presentation featuring preserved tombstones from Jannat al-Mu'alla Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Mecca and the resting place of companions of the Prophet and pilgrims who died during their journey.

Ayman Yossri Daydban

Ayman Yossri Daydban (b. 1966) is a Palestinian-Saudi multidisciplinary artist whose work examines national narratives, identity, and belonging through the lens of cultural heritage and global exchange. His approach often mirrors the meaning of his Arabic surname—“watchman” or “guard”—reflecting his careful observation of how histories, traditions, and identities shift within the complex relationship between East and West. Daydban’s practice explores themes of assimilation, translation, and the negotiation of cultural differences in an increasingly interconnected world. He has presented numerous solo exhibitions, including Give Me The Light at Athr Gallery (2016), Common Grounds at Sabrina Amrani Gallery (2014), and I Am Anything, I Am Everything at Athr in 2012, while his first public art project, Change, appeared on billboards across Dubai and Sharjah during the Art Dubai in 2013. In his work Ihramat, Daydban evokes the presence of male bodies through six pieces of traditional white pilgrimage clothing worn by men traveling to Jeddah for Hajj. Mounted on rectangular wooden panels, the garments form an inverted stepped pyramid, transforming the sacred attire into a minimalist sculptural installation within a room lined with white sheets of paper, creating a contemplative space that reflects on ritual, identity, and collective memory.

Ahmed Mater

While studying surgery in medical school in the late 1990's, Ahmed Mater was also attending photography and painting workshops at the King Fahd Cultural Centre in Riyadh. In a surprising career shift, he eventually left medicine to pursue art full time. Today, Mater is widely regarded as one of the Gulf region’s leading contemporary artists, known for installations, photography, and works using found objects that explore local histories and the rapid cultural transformation of Saudi society. One of his well-known conceptual works, Evolution of Man, presents an LED lightbox showing a sequence in which a human X-ray figure pointing a gun at its head gradually transforms into a gas pump—an image reflecting the profound impact of the oil economy on daily life. Mater has described himself as “the son of this strange, scary oil civilization,” noting how dramatically life has changed within a short period of time. The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is another recurring theme in his work, where he documents the transformation of sacred spaces such as the Kaaba and reflects on the tensions between preservation and large-scale redevelopment surrounding the holy site.

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