3 September 2026 — 28 November 2026

Uzbekistan: Heritage in Motion

Uzbekistan: Heritage in Motion presents the Islamic heritage of Uzbekistan from the eve of the Islamic conquest of Central Asia until the present day, showing how the country’s identity has been built firmly on its Islamic legacy. Presented in partnership with the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) in the Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Temporary Exhibitions Gallery, it is the first exhibition in 30 years to link Uzbekistan’s history directly to its identity as a modern nation. The exhibition unfolds across four themes. Beyond the River sets up the cultural context of the lands of Uzbekistan before the Islamic conquest of Central Asia in the 8th century, a cosmopolitan crossroads with an already rich history. Building Earth and Empire concentrates on the historical built environment and the creative ingenuity afforded by materials such as brick, introducing the Samanid and Timurid dynasties behind the region’s two Islamic Renaissances. Architects of Thought and Image presents leaders of Islamic intellectualism from the lands within Uzbekistan’s borders through manuscripts and interactive activities. The largest theme, Legacies of Clay and Thread, celebrates traditional crafts — ceramics, dress and jewellery, and textiles, especially silk — through time and into the modern period. Throughout, connections are drawn to the modern relevance of historical figures, materials and artistic principles, as contemporary Uzbekistan draws on its heritage to guide its future.

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Baghdad · Iraq

The City With No Ruins: What Is Left of Abbasid Baghdad

A caliph drew his capital in fire, the Mongols erased it, and a video game rebuilt it out of Isfahan and Samarkand. What actually survives of Abbasid Baghdad, where it is, and who else has tried to put it back.

Climb a viewpoint in Assassin's Creed Mirage and you see the Round City whole — double walls, four gates, the green dome at the centre. Nobody has ever seen that view. No excavated remains have been securely identified as any of it. This is what is actually left of ninth-century Baghdad, where you would have to go to stand in it, and why Ubisoft was the second team to rebuild a city that no longer exists.

Museum of Islamic Art