When London’s Victoria and Albert Museum opened its doors in 1857, its mission was to inspire artists, craftsmen and manufacturers by showing design excellence in its many forms. The museum had amassed a large collection of Islamic art and artefacts, believing the British could learn a thing or two from the principles of geometry, pattern-making, decoration and function exemplified by work from Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Syria and other places in the region. Many years on, the Jameel Prize, supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, awards contemporary artists influenced by Islamic traditions of craft and design, and looks further afield for the fruits of contemporary middle-eastern art.

Read More: Interviews with Artists Shortlisted for the V&A’s Jameel Prize 2013