International Day of Islamic Art
Next: November 18, 2026
Pattern, lettering and light.
The story
Where it comes from
The International Day of Islamic Art was proclaimed by UNESCO's General Conference at its 40th session in 2019, on a proposal from the Kingdom of Bahrain, and was first celebrated on 18 November 2020. It honours artistic expressions of Islam past and present, an art that spans more than 1,400 years and, at different times, lands from Spain to western China. UNESCO sees the day as a way to encourage cultural diversity, protect heritage and build dialogue between cultures through art.
How it's celebrated
Museums, cultural bodies and universities hold exhibitions, talks and workshops. For the first edition in 2020, ICESCO ran a week of virtual exhibitions, literary salons and Arabic calligraphy competitions, and the Comoros held a three-day exhibition at its National Museum. It is a good day to visit a collection of Islamic art, or to look closely at the geometry and lettering on a mosque, a carpet or a piece of tilework.
Did you know
- Kuala Lumpur's Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, opened in December 1998, is the largest museum of Islamic art in Southeast Asia.
- UNESCO's description of Islamic art runs from calligraphy and ceramics to metalwork, music and dance.
- Traditional Arabic calligraphers cut their pens (qalam) from reeds or bamboo and mix ink from honey, soot and saffron, according to UNESCO, which added the craft to its intangible heritage list in 2021.
Coming up next
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- World Children's Day · November 20, 2026
- World Television Day · November 21, 2026
- The First Computer-Animated Feature · November 22, 2026
- Good Couple Day · November 22, 2026