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S ARTS OF ISLAM. A PAST FOR A PRESENT At the request of the Prime Minister, the Musée du Louvre and the Réunion des musées nationaux Grand Palais committed to co-organising a unique project aimed at a very wide audience, and particularly the younger generations, in order to offer new insight into the arts and cultures of Islam. This new format of regional exhibitions was a real challenge to which all partners rose, within very limited time frames.

Held in 18 French cities one per académie or regional education authority these exhibitions took place in museums, media libraries, libraries and other cultural venues. In the face of prejudice and identity drift, culture must be an unfailing shield and a driver for sharing, opening up to others, providing keys to understanding and highlighting what we have in common to build a shared future. Each exhibition presented ten works, both historical and contemporary, from the Department of Islamic Arts at the Musée du Louvre as well as national and regional collections; these works made it possible for each project to embody the wealth and diversity of Islamic cultures and their role in the history of France for over 1300 years.

A total of over 180 works were shown to the public, including an 11th-century mosque lamp from Jerusalem (Musée du Louvre), a candlestick from the time of Saladin made by an artist from Mosul recounting the life of Jesus (Musée du Louvre), 13th century ivory vanity boxes that belonged to the Duchesses of Burgundy, from the Abbey of Cîteaux, now at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, a work by the artist Hiwa K, One Room Apartment (FRAC Normandie) and Les Collages de Topak Ev by French-based Turkish artist Nil Yalter. This initiative also aimed to enlighten the public about the highly diverse territories and populations linked to Islam. Islamic civilisation is as Arab as it is Turkish, Indian as it is Iranian, Asian as it is North African... The works presented highlighted a wide variety of artistic practices and sensibilities, evoking scenes of life, nature, romantic desire, or simply the decoration of a palace or mosque. The chief curator of all exhibitions was Yannick Lintz, Director of the Department of Islamic Arts at the Musée du Louvre. This project was made possible with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport.

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