The award ceremony took place in the Museum’s Islamic Room and counted on the presence of João Neto, the President of APOM – the Portuguese Museology Association, and the board member, Margarida Montenegro, who delivered the Prize to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation trustee, Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins, the director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, António Filipe Pimentel, and the exhibition’s curator and designer, Jessica Hallet and Mariano Piçarra, respectively.

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Staged in the Main Gallery of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation between 12 July and 7 October 2019, the temporary exhibition The Rise of Islamic Art. 1869 – 1939 brought together works from the Islamic Art section of the Gulbenkian Collection and other important international institutions and conveys the fascination of the collector and his peers for “orientalism”.

At a time when the concept of “Islamic Art” was beginning to take shape and influence artistic movements in Europe, this exhibition sought to deepen our understanding about the relationships between Collectionism and Realpolitik, identifying the notable synergies between the Gulbenkian acquisitions ongoing between 1900 and 1930 and the parallel developments in the field of “Islamic Art”.

The annual APOM prize distinguishes the institutions and their museologic projects that have most stood out across various different facets, including communication, research, the design of temporary exhibitions, education and among others. The 25th prize winning ceremony took place online on 10 December 2020.