BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
33-year-old South African architect Sumayya Vally is organising the world’s first Islamic Arts Biennale in Saudi Arabia, and this is just one of the many milestones she’s achieved in her career.
Born in Pretoria (1990), Sumaya co-founded the experimental architecture and research firm, Counterspace, in 2015 and went on to become the youngest ever architect commissioned to design London’s famed Serpentine Pavilion in 2020.
The following year, Vally was recognized in the Time 100 Next list as an emerging leader shaping the future.
This year, Sumayya has undertaken a new challenge: designing the first ever Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Taking on this role saw her reimagine Jeddah Airport’s mammoth Hajj Terminal – ordinarily known for hosting hundreds of thousands of Muslims making their sacred pilgrimage to Mecca – as a journey through centuries of Islamic creativity.
The Islamic Arts Biennale 2023 runs in Jeddah until 23 April 2023.
