The MENAEA Collection started out as a private art collection, museum and dealership of Middle Eastern, North African, European and Asian (MENAEA) antiquities and contemporary art across a period of 3000 years. Today it breaks free from the traditional gallery and museum model through collaborations, partnerships and philanthropy with international emerging and established artists, collectors, galleries and institutions. Through these meaningful connections, Founder & Curator Raja Umar Jamalullail (Umar) organises and curates nomadic exhibitions at unique venues across the globe, often juxtaposing ancient and contemporary art and creating dialogues on social, political, economic and technological issues that stretch beyond continents and generations. The MENAEA Collection also provides a sanctuary and research support and opportunities for priceless fragments of the past. Currently located in London, the MENAEA Collection will be shifting base to Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur and is anticipated to launch a permanent creative space in the city as well as in Paris in 2025. 

Umar’s academic background is in finance, accounting and economics. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from the University of Nottingham as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics and Master of Science in Banking and Finance from Queen Mary University of London where he researched and specialised in Malaysia’s monetary policy post the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Despite his contrasting background, Umar has admired and been surrounded by ancient art all his life, adventuring on archaeological expeditions in Greece, Italy, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Egypt. Umar has also worked in finance at a London-based fashion company, politics at the City of London Corporation and at an environmental finance consultancy. Today he sits on the board of his family’s investment holding firm where he involves himself with its hospitality arm.