LONDON.- From Spring 2026, Leighton House will present the first major exploration of its 19th century Arab Hall, one of Londonʼs most iconic interiors, through three site-specific art installations, a specially commissioned short film, and an exhibition and new publication containing extensive new research.
As a central part of Leighton Houseʼs 100-year anniversary programme, this collaborative and interdisciplinary project examines the spaceʼs remarkable history and its continued relevance today. Created by Victorian artist Frederic Leighton (1830-1896) following extensive travels across North Africa and the Middle East, the Arab Hall was conceived as a spectacular extension to his Kensington studio-house – a blend of Islamic, Mediterranean and Victorian craft traditions, the centre piece of which is the collection of antique tiles from Damascus, Turkey and Iran which line its walls. Since its completion in 1881, the Arab Hall has become an important place for discovery and debate, for contemplation and creativity that continues to resonate with visitors, researchers and creatives today.
Opening 21st March 2026, The Arab Hall: Past and Present will give visitors a unique opportunity to delve into the roomʼs fascinating history and encourage reflection on its significance in todayʼs world.
New Film and Contemporary Art Commissions
Award winning filmmaker Soudade Kaadan - Nezouh (2022), The Day I Lost My Shadow (2018) - will present a new short film. A blend of magical realism, dreamscape and documentary, When the Tiles Spoke will take viewers on an immersive, emotional journey through the Arab Hall. Video and animation will bring the tiles to life, giving them a voice and allowing them to tell their own story for the first time, exploring their origins, their journey to Leighton House, and how they see their place in the Arab Hall. The film will be visually rich, informative and enchanting, supported by a newly commissioned score.
Alongside When the Tiles Spoke, three newly commissioned installations will offer contemporary perspectives on the Arab Hall, each engaging with its architecture, materials and layered histories.
From 21 March to 15 May 2026, Atlas ofi An Entangled Gaze, by London-based Lebanese artist Ramzi Mallat explores the subtle power dynamics in the Arab Hall. Comprised of thousands of blue-glazed ceramic Syriac evil-eye charms, the piece will appear suspended from the roomʼs central chandelier hanging over the fountain. Inspired by the form of Medieval Ottoman helmets, the work will create a ‘shielding canopy of watchful eyesʼ, prompting reflections on who is being looked at, who is being protected and how cultural symbols travel and transform across centuries.
From 15 May to 31 July 2026, British Bangladeshi artist Kamilah Ahmed will present Facets in Resonance, a mixed-media embroidered textile arch, which will sit over the fountain in the Arab Hall, framing a new view on the space. Referencing traditional Islamic crafts and decorative arts, including Damascene tiles, Iznik patterns, stained glass, gold mosaics, divan marquetry inlay, and mashrabiya screens, the work honours the legacy of the Arab Hall as a physical reflection of the value of artisanal practices and cross-cultural exchange.
The final installation will be From Water, Every Living Thing by calligrapher and artist Soraya Syed, the first Briton to be awarded an icazetname, a traditional licence certifying mastery in Islamic calligraphy. On display from 31 July to 4 October and installed at the heart of the
space, the work takes the fountain as its conceptual and architectural point of origin. A film of animated gold calligraphy will be projected directly onto the fountainʼs black marble basin, where letters appear to float, fragment, and reform in dialogue with the waterʼs movement and sound, as a sequence of goldfish gradually transforms into script. . Drawing on ideas embedded in the Arab Hallʼs inscriptions, tilework, patterns, and stained-glass windows, the work treats calligraphy not as surface ornament but as a living, animating force, inviting visitors to encounter the Hall as a space that continues to unfold.
New Exhibition & Research
Supporting these contemporary responses, an exhibition in the museumʼs Tavolozza Drawings Gallery will trace the origins and creation of the Arab Hall (constructed between 1877 and 1881), revealing the influences, collaborations, and craftsmanship behind this iconic space. Featuring original designs by architect George Aitchison, ceramicist William De Morgan and illustrator Walter Crane, alongside works by Leighton and ceramics from his own collection, the exhibition offers visitors a window into the collaborative process that brought the Arab Hall to life.
The exhibition is informed by new research from Dr Melanie Gibson, presented in full in the accompanying fully illustrated book The Arab Hall, Frederic Leighton: Traveller and Collector. Gibsonʼs study charts Leightonʼs travels across southern Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Sicily, revealing how these journeys informed his engagement with Islamic art and the design of the Arab Hall. Drawing on previously unpublished letters from the
Pennell–Whistler Collection (Library of Congress), the research shows that Leighton spent much of his 1873 visit to Damascus sourcing tiles for the Hall, and that he started planning the space as early as 1870 - several years before work started on its construction and well before he was elected president of the Royal Academy.
The book and exhibition also shed light on key contributors such as Leightonʼs architect George Aitchison, reconstruct the contents of Leightonʼs dispersed Islamic art collection, and for the first time fully transcribe and trace the Hallʼs tiles and inscriptions to their original sites. Newly uncovered evidence also highlights the significance Leighton placed on the room during his lifetime, including hosting visits from the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prime Minister William Gladstone.
The Arab Hall, Frederic Leighton: Traveller and Collector by Dr Melanie Gibson, will be published on 19 March to coincide with the exhibition.
Daniel Robbins, Senior Curator of Leighton House and Sambourne House, said: “The Arab Hall has an extraordinary capacity to surprise, delight and inspire. Through this innovative programme, we want to bring new fiocus to its history and importance, presenting new ways to engage and interact with a space which has never seemed more relevant and signifiicant to our audiences.ˮ
Kim Taylor-Smith, Lead Member for Employment, Culture and Economy at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said: “I am always mesmerised when I visit the Arab Hall at Leighton House—a space ofi extraordinary beauty and historical depth where multiple cultures converge and intertwine, mirroring the rich diversity ofi the Borough ofi Kensington and Chelsea.ˮ
