Home > News > Meanwhile > Mosque exhibition, Berlin

Mosque exhibition, Berlin

Cube or Dome: An exhibition of mosque architecture

BERLIN (DE) - 'What makes a mosque a mosque? The question is as easy as it is simple: a wall correctly aligned to Mecca,' states Kuwaiti architect Omar Khattab as he concisely describes the characteristics of the Muslim prayer space. And he is right; while the architecture of mosques must reckon with traditions and religious laws, it has only a few aesthetic design requirements.

The curators of the exhibition Kubus oder Kuppel. Moscheen. Perpektiven einer Bauaufgabe (Cube or Dome. Mosques. New ways of building) have embraced this interpretation. They explore its building policy by re-imagining, re-inventing and questioning it through installations, objects and photographs by several artists. The exhibition focuses primarily on innovation and is illustrated by numerous examples from across the Muslim world: masterpieces of contemporary architecture from Ankara, Dubai, Singapore and Ramallah, and from Penzberg, Basel and Amsterdam to Kayseri, Chittagong, Albuquerque and Algiers. It is one of the first general surveys of the latest developments in mosque architecture, enriched and expanded by numerous artistic interventions.

The exhibition runs from now until 30 September 2012 at the ifa Gallery in Berlin. For more information, please visit: www.ifa.de/en/exhibitions/dt/ifa-gallery-berlin