An installation titled The Mosque – Iceland's contribution to the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale – will open within a 10th-century monument in Venice this weekend.
Created by the Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel in collaboration with the Muslim communities of Venice and Iceland, The Mosque will be inside the historic Santa Maria della Misericordia in Cannaregio and host cultural and educational programmes during the biennial. It will also house the main icons of Islam – the qibla wall, mihrab, the minbar and a large prayer carpet oriented in the direction of Mecca.
“Choosing Christoph fulfils the idea of the Icelandic Art Center – to promote dialogue and communion among cultures, so much needed at home and abroad,” says Björg Stefánsdóttir, director of the Icelandic Art Center and commissioner of the Icelandic Pavilion.
Sverrir Agnarsson, president of the Muslim Community of Iceland, says that he is proud to support the project, which coincides with a campaign to build Reykjavik’s first mosque.
“In the past, it was impossible to imagine mosques in either place [Venice and Reykjavik]. It is our hope that, inshallah, projects such as these will lead to flourishing activities among Muslims internationally, and to greater, more fulfilling, peace-loving interaction between Venice, Reykjavik and cities everywhere.”
• Information about The Mosque will be available at www.mosque.is from Friday, May 8. The 56th edition of the Venice Biennale runs from Saturday, May 9, until November 22
aseaman@thenational.ae