Winner of the 7th Jameel Prize Announced
By Annabel Preston
Portrait of KHANDAKAR OHIDA, winner of the 7th Jameel Prize, at the V&A South Kensington in London. Courtesy V&A and Art Jameel.
On November 27, the V&A and Art Jameel foundation awarded the Jameel Prize’s seventh edition to Indian artist Khandakar Ohida for her film Dream Your Museum (2024). The triennial GBP 25,000 (USD 31,700) international award, this year centered around moving-image and digital-media practices, is presented to an artist inspired by Islamic traditions.
Ohida’s Dream Your Museum presents a tender portrait of her uncle, Khandakar Selim, through his vast collection of more than 12,000 objects and memorabilia accrued over the past five decades. When the family’s traditional mud house in West Bengal was tragically torn down, many items were damaged or discarded. Ohida’s work testifies to Selim’s care and conservation, and the pair’s joint desire for a museum reflecting diverse social and cultural identities, and minority experiences in India.
Speaking ahead of the opening, the V&A’s Jameel Curator of Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, Rachel Dedman, emphasized moving image and digital media as “storytelling in the strongest sense.” Highlighting the strength of this year’s seven shortlisted entries, she noted their approach to both the personal and the political, forming projects that emerge “from their own heritage and experience, but speak to something universal.”
From November 30 until March 16, 2025, “Jameel Prize: Moving Images” at the V&A South Kensington will feature Dream Your Museum alongside a selection of Selim’s objects, as well as works by the six other finalists. The exhibition will then travel to other notable venues such as the Hayy Jameel in Jeddah.
A collaboration between the V&A and Saudi Arabia- and Dubai-based foundation Art Jameel, the prize was launched in 2009 to celebrate the influence of Islamic heritage on contemporary culture.
Annabel Preston is assistant editor at ArtAsiaPacific.
