The Jameel Prize Winner 2011 > Rachid Koraïchi

Rachid Koraichi: Les Maitres Invisibles (The Invisible Masters)

Image Courtesy October Gallery, London

Rachid Koraichi (Photo by Ferrante Ferranti)

Algerian born Rachid Koraïchi has won the £25,000 Jameel Prize for a selection of embroidered cloth banners from a series entitled Les Maitres invisibles (The Invisible Masters), 2008. Martin Roth, Director of the V&A, Hasan Jameel and Ed Vaizey MP, presented Rachid Koraïchi with the prize at a ceremony at the V&A on Monday 12 September. The Judges felt that Rachid’s work matches the aims of the Jameel Prize through its qualities of design and reliance on traditional craft. They particularly admired how he has made his great spiritual and intellectual lineage accessible to all through the graphic language he has created out of his artistic heritage. Koraichi uses Arabic calligraphy, and symbols and ciphers from a range of other languages and cultures to explore the lives and legacies of the 14 great mystics of Islam. The work aims to show that the world of Islam, in contrast to contemporary perceptions of crisis and violence, has another side entirely, evident in the tolerant and sophisticated writings of great Muslim thinkers and poets such as Rumi and El Arabi. These ‘masters’, whose fame has spread even to the West, left an imprint on successive generations and their message is just as relevant today as when first written down.

Awarded every two years, the Jameel Prize is an international art prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design. The Prize aims to raise awareness of the thriving interaction between contemporary practice and the rich artistic heritage of Islam, and to contribute to a broader debate about Islamic culture. Launched in 2009, the winner of the first Jameel Prize was Afruz Amighi for her work 1001 Pages (2008), an intricate hand-cut screen made from the woven plastic used to construct refugee tents. Afruz is on the judging panel for the 2011 Prize.

An exhibition of work by the winner and nine other short-listed artists and designers runs until 25 September. The exhibition will then embark on an international tour travelling to venues across the United States and Europe including the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris in winter 2011/12; the Casa Árabe, Madrid in spring/summer 2012; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in autumn 2012; and Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University in winter 2012/13.