V&A Museum names finalists in 2021’s Jameel Prize

UAE’s Hadeyeh Badri among eight shortlisted in design competition exploring Islamic tradition

Hadeyeh Badri, Prayer is my Mail (detail), installation of work at the Sullivan Galleries for the SAIC MFA show, 2019. Photograph: Alex Younger. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Hadeyeh Badri, Layt Al Lathi Bayni Wa Baynaka, 2018. Photograph: Hadeyeh Badri. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Hadeyeh Badri, Prayer is my Mail, installation of work at the Sullivan Galleries for the SAIC MFA show, 2019. Photograph: Alex Younger. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Golnar Adili, Ye Harvest From the Eleven-Page Letter, installation, 2016. Photograph: Golnar Adili. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Golnar Adili, Ye Harvest From the Eleven-Page Letter, print, 2016. Photograph: Golnar Adili. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Kallol Datta, Karate Gi, Volume 1 Issue 2, 2018. Photograph: Keegan Crasto. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Kallol Datta, Look 4, Volume 1, 2018. Photograph: Siddhartha Hajra. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Kallol Datta, Ghost Object, Volume 2, 2019. Photograph: Parak Sarungbam. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Documentation of Farah Fayyad’s screen-printing intervention during the Lebanese revolution, 2019. Photograph: Tony Elieh. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Farah Fayyad, Kufur typeface on Fi Shi tote bag, 2018. Photograph: Christian Moussa. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Farah Fayyad, Kufur typeface, 2021. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Ajlan Gharem, Paradise Has Many Gates – Daytime, 2015. Photograph: Ajlan Gharem. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Ajlan Gharem, Paradise Has Many Gates – Daytime, 2015. Photograph: Ajlan Gharem. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Ajlan Gharem, Paradise Has Many Gates – Nighttime, 2015. Photograph: Ajlan Gharem. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Assorted Samosa Packets from Sofia Karim’s Turbine Bagh project. Designed and made by Sofia Karim using artwork and texts from various artists and writers, 2019-ongoing. Photograph: Sofia Karim. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Samosa packets calling for the release of Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam. Designed and made by Sofia Karim using photographs by Abul Kalam. Part of Sofia Karim’s Turbine Bagh project, 2019-ongoing. Photograph: Sofia Karim. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Jana Traboulsi, Kitab al-Hawamish (Book of Margins), 2017. Photograph: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Jana Traboulsi, Kitab al-Hawamish (Book of Margins), 2017. Photograph: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Bushra Waqas Khan, Untitled, 2019, 53cm tall. Photograph: Rafay Anwer Creative Studio. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Bushra Waqas Khan, Untitled, 2019, 53cm tall. Photograph: Rafay Anwer Creative Studio. Courtesy Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Britain's Victoria and Albert Museum has announced the finalists for this year's Jameel Prize, which celebrates art and design inspired by Islamic tradition.

The Jameel Prize was founded in 2009 as a partnership between the V&A and Dubai’s Art Jameel foundation.

It showcases the influence of Islamic tradition on art, with this year’s exhibition – Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics – the first to focus on contemporary design.

The UAE’s Hadeyeh Badri was named among eight finalists for her textile work that features Arabic writing taken from the diary of her deceased aunt.

Judges praised Ms Badri’s highly personal work for the way it provides “intimate, imperfect monuments to loved ones”.

Among the other finalists, Saudi Arabian art and maths teacher Ajlan Gharem was commended for his installation Paradise Has Many Gates, which depicts a traditional mosque made of chicken wire.

“Although the wire feels uninviting, even frightening, it also renders the mosque transparent and open – even welcoming,” the judges said.

Lebanese graphic designer Farah Fayyad was recognised for bringing “Arabic typography into the public and political sphere”.

During the 2019 protests in Lebanon, Ms Fayyad printed artwork and slogans by local designers on to the clothing of demonstrators.

Iran-born American designer Golnar Adili was shortlisted for her piece portraying a letter that her father wrote to her.

British architect Sofia Karim made the cut for her work using photographs from Nepal Picture Library printed on her mother’s old songwriting notes. The piece explores the 2019 protests against the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act, legislation described by critics as Islamophobic.

The other finalists are: India's Kallol Datta, Lebanon's Jana Traboulsi and Pakistan's Bushra Waqas Khan.

Organisers said more than 400 designers across the world entered the competition, which has a £25,000 ($34,285) prize.

The works of the eight finalists will be on display in London's V&A from Saturday, September 18 to Sunday, November 28.

The winner will be announced at the start of the exhibition.

V&A director and Jameel Prize jury chairman Tristram Hunt said this year’s competition attracted a record number of entries.

“From poetry to politics, those on the exceptional and diverse shortlist were selected for their innovative and imaginative projects, with strong links between Islamic traditions and contemporary design,” he said.

“The V&A is delighted to continue its partnership with Art Jameel with this prize, and celebrate contemporary practitioners inspired by Islamic traditions.”