Jameel Arts Centre

About Jameel Arts Centre

Art Jameel was established in 2003 as part of Community Jameel, the organisation set up to continue the Jameel family’s tradition of supporting the community — a tradition started in the 1940s by the late Abdul Latif Jameel, founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel business, who throughout his life helped tens of thousands of disadvantaged people in the fields of healthcare, education and improving livelihoods. Today, Community Jameel is dedicated to supporting social and economic sustainability, across the Middle East and beyond, through a range of initiatives. Art Jameel is a complementary, independent organisation that fosters and promotes contemporary art, cultural heritage protection, and creative entrepreneurship across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and beyond. In 2003, Art Jameel partnered with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to renovate the Islamic gallery, now called the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art. Art Jameel’s work in supporting cultural heritage continued with, in 2009, the launch of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Cairo, a major teaching institution that preserves the heritage of traditional arts and crafts; supports young artists to develop contemporary designs from Egyptian traditions; and helps graduates apply their skills in the restoration of monuments or as entrepreneurs. In Jeddah, in 2013, Art Jameel (together with the Jeddah Municipality) completed the construction of an open-air sculpture museum on the Corniche, for which it first restored and then re-located 26 modern and contemporary sculptures from across the city.