LACMA Becomes First U.S. Museum to Acquire Saudi Arabian Contemporary Art

ARTINFO
By Shane Ferro

An installation view of "Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts."

CALIFORNIA - It was announced [last] Wednesday that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Islamic art department will acquire contemporary works from from two Saudi artists, Ahmed Mater and Abdulnasser Gharem, in partnership with Edge of Arabia, a project co-founded by the two artists dedicated to raising the profile of Saudi artists around the world. It will be the first contemporary Saudi work to be added to the permanent collection of an American museum, according a press release. The two works being added to the collection are Mater's "Illumination Dyptich (Ottoman Waqf)" and Gharem's "Al Siraat (Video)." According to a statement by LACMA's director Michael Govan, Mater's diptych was made especially for the museum. It is currently part of an ongoing exhibition at the museum called "Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts," which explores the Islamic culture through its tradition of gift giving and runs through September 5. [link]