The Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design is housed in the former home of

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...

near Diamond Head just outside

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii. It is now owned and operated as a public museum of the arts and cultures of the Islamic world by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA). Guided tours depart from the Honolulu Museum of Art, which operates the tours in co-operation with DDFIA. Construction of Shangri La took place from 1936 to 1938, after

's 1935 honeymoon which took her through the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic world. For nearly 60 years, Duke commissioned and collected artworks for the space, eventually forming a collection of over 4,000 objects. The structure was designed by

Marion Sims Wyeth Marion Sims Wyeth (February 17, 1889 – February 4, 1982) was an American architect known for his range in styles such as Art Deco, Mediterranean Revival, and classical Georgian, French, and Colonial. He designed numerous mansions in Palm Beac ...

. An artistic reflection of the construction of Shangri La can be found in

Kiana Davenport Kiana Davenport (born Diana Davenport in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American author of part- Hawaiian ancestry. She is the author of critically acclaimed novels ''Shark Dialogues'' (1994) and ''Song of the Exile'', both of which explore aspects of lif ...

's novel ''Song of the Exile''. The building was opened to the public as a museum, the Shangri La Museum for Islamic Art, Design & Culture, in 2002.

Collections and exhibitions

Shangri La - pool view with Diamond Head

The museum displays a wide-ranging collection of art, furnishings, and built-in architectural elements from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

- among others. Gilt and painted ceilings from Morocco, vivid ceramics from Iran (including the only complete lusterware Ilkhanid

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

in North America), painted wooden interiors from Syria, pierced metalwork and vibrant textiles from Spain to India (including a magnificent pair of shaped carpets, made for the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperor) are among the many highlights. Its multiple buildings on the campus also include The Playhouse (a reduced-scale version of the 17th century Chehel Sotoun in Esfahan, Iran, now used for public programs and artist residencies). The outdoor landscaping has a number of gardens, including a formal Mughal garden inspired by the

Shalimar Gardens Shalimar or Shalamar refers to three historic royal gardens (or Baghs) of the Mughal Empire in South Asia: * Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India; built in 1619 * Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, Pakistan; a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in ...

, as well as terraced water features, a Hawaiian fishpond, tropical gardens and a waterfall, and fabulous vistas of the Pacific Ocean. The museum also hosts two visual artists per year for onsite exhibitions, workshops, and/or lectures. Recently-featured artists have included Hayv Kahraman,

Faig Ahmed Faig Ahmed () (born 1982 in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani contemporary visual artist who is best known for his surrealist weavings which integrate visual distortions into traditional oriental rugs. Ahmed graduated from the sculpture pro ...

Bahia Shehab Bahia Shehab ( ar, بهية شهاب; born 1977) is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, historian, creative director, educator and activist based in Cairo, Egypt. Her work is concerned with identity and cultural heritage, and uses Islamic art h ...

, and

Reem Bassous Reem Miriam Bassous is a Lebanese artist. She was born on July 19, 1978; she was raised in Athens, Athens, Greece until she was four years old due to conflict in Lebanon. She moved back to Lebanon later that year. At the age of seventeen, Reem a ...

Public tours and programs

Because it is located in a residential area with limited parking capacity, tours of Shangri La originate at the Honolulu Museum of Art, and tickets must be reserved well in advance. Individual access to the museum is not granted. Tours last about two and a-half hours, with one and a-half hours onsite at Shangri La. Tours feature the public rooms of the museum, and portions of the grounds, Features include the Entry Courtyard with

's ''My People'' mural, the Mughal Garden, the covered lānai overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and views of the Playhouse/pool/water cascades. The museum has a calendar of public programs throughout the year, including educational activities, lectures, and performances by the artists in residence, including musicians (such as Alsarah and the Nubatones), dancers (such as Amirah Sackett), comedians (Tanzila 'Taz' Ahmed and Zahra Noorkbakhsh of Good Muslim Bad Muslim), and intellectuals (such as Dr.

Lonnie Bunch Lonnie G. Bunch III (born November 18, 1952) is an American educator and historian. Bunch is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the first African American and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian. He has spent ...

Location

The facility sits on a oceanfront lot in the exclusive Black Point residential neighborhood near

Diamond Head, Hawaii Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi (). The Hawaiian name is most likely derived from ''lae'' (browridge, promontory) plus ''ahi'' (tuna) because the shape of the ridgeline resem ...

. All tours to Shangri La begin and end at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which occupies near downtown Honolulu. As the museum operates under the terms of a conditional use permit from the City and County of Honolulu, visitor access is restricted. Visitors are not permitted to drive or park on-site at Shangri La or in the surrounding residential neighborhood.

References

External links

* * Interview
Museum Director Konrad Ng, December 2017
{{authority control Houses in Honolulu County, Hawaii Gardens in Hawaii D Duke family residences Museums in Honolulu Art museums and galleries in Hawaii Historic house museums in Hawaii Islamic museums Residential buildings completed in 1938 Hawaiian architecture Art museums established in 2002 2002 establishments in Hawaii 1938 establishments in Hawaii