(New York, February 7, 2020)—Max Hollein, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that Navina Najat Haidar has been named the Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator in Charge of the Department of Islamic Art, effective immediately. Her election took place at the January 14 meeting of the Board of Trustees. She was named Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator in 2018.
Dr. Haidar was the coordinating curator of the New Islamic Galleries project, which came to fruition with the 2011 opening of an extraordinary sequence of galleries dedicated to the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. In this key role, she worked with successive department heads to oversee the reconfiguration, flow, and design of the galleries, including the reinstallation of more than 1,000 objects, along with a new approach to didactic materials. She also supervised the research, design, and execution of the Patti Cadby Birch Moroccan Court, constructed on-site at The Met by a team of craftsmen from Fez.
Max Hollein, Director of the Museum commented: "Navina Najat Haidar is an esteemed curator, distinguished scholar, and highly respected colleague. This appointment recognizes her many achievements and her deep knowledge of Islamic art, especially the vast collection at The Met—one of the finest and most comprehensive in the world—which Navina so skillfully and thoughtfully presents to our visitors. At a time when a broad understanding and multifaceted appreciation of the arts and cultures of the Islamic world is truly significant, her leadership will be crucial to developing the next phase of initiatives and ambitions for the Department of Islamic Art at The Met.”
“The approaching 10-year anniversary of the inauguration of our New Islamic Galleries provides a reason to reflect on the important role of our collections in both the history of The Met and of the country,” Dr. Haidar stated. “In its early decades, the Museum received large gifts of Islamic decorative arts and manuscripts from American artists, collectors, and philanthropists who appreciated the objects for their powerful aesthetic qualities. These works take on renewed relevance in today’s world, where they can provide much-needed insight into Islamic culture and history. Through art we also recognize the intersection of Islamic cultures with other great civilizations and the syncretic themes they gifted the world. I look forward to working with my colleagues on further developing and advancing the Museum’s expertise and voice in these areas.”
Dr. Haidar’s major recent exhibitions have included Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy (2015) and Divine Pleasures: The Kronos Collection of Rajput Painting (2016). She is currently working on a major exhibition—Jahangir: Emperor, Connoisseur, Naturalist of the Mughal Age—scheduled for 2024.
She received her doctorate from the University of Oxford.
She succeeds Sheila Canby, who was Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge from 2009 to 2019; Michael Barry, who was Patti Cadby Birch Consultative Chairman from 2005 to 2008; and Daniel Walker, who was Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge from 2001 to 2005.
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Updated February 19, 2020
Image: Navina Najat Haidar, Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator in Charge, Department of Islamic Art
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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