2011 Islamic Art Exhibit in Silicon Valley, California

[Riaz Haq]

• July at Fremont Library
• September at San Ramon Library
• October at Pleasanton Library
• November & December at Saratoga Library

Legacy of Quran: Message of Peace

“Islamic art is perhaps the most accessible manifestation of a complex civilization that often seems enigmatic to outsiders. Through its brilliant use of color and its superb balance between design and form, Islamic art creates an immediate visual impact. Its strong aesthetic appeal transcends distances in time and space, as well as differences in language, culture, and creed.”

-Dr Linda Komaroff, associate curator of Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

 

 

Islamic Art Exhibit

For almost 1400 years, the tradition of Islamic art has flourished throughout the world, with the beautiful patterns and designs unique to the art manifested in forms such as architecture, calligraphy, painting and ceramics.  Today, in the twenty-first century, Islamic art has new media through which artists can now express themselves.  The style is constantly evolving while remaining true to its origins, and it is a valuable art form that deserves recognition and awareness.

As a nonprofit corporation, Islamic Art Exhibit (“IAE”) intends to fully carry out the latter in order to enrich American society and specifically the communities in and around the San Francisco Bay Area about modern Islamic art.  With truly beautiful pieces of artwork and dedicated artists, the Islamic artistic tradition is one that deserves to be shared with the wider American audience.  At the same time, IAE hopes to benefit the aforementioned artists by providing them a platform to showcase their work.  Art can often be used as an impetus to bring individuals of diverse backgrounds, as well as entire communities, together, and IAE hopes that it can achieve the same with Islamic art, an often overlooked artistic tradition.

IAE plans to hold seminars and exhibitions designed to bring awareness to Islamic art.  These programs will allow the interested to see the current state of the style, as well as opportunities to learn about the rich history of Islamic art.  In this way, IAE hopes to foster a greater appreciation among attendees of all ages, which would also allow Islamic artists to thrive and continue to create more works of fine art.  Additionally, because Islam and its artistic traditions have spanned diverse geographical regions ranging from Africa to the Middle East to South and East Asia, IAE will be a gateway for cross-cultural activity and interaction.

Imam Tahir Anwar (Religious Adviser)

Nabeela Sajjad

Aasia Saeed

Lubna Achikzai

 

http://islamicartexhibit.com/

http://www.riazhaq.com/2009/06/obama-islam-and-science.html

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[Riaz Haq]

American artists tracing their ethnicities from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, China, Europe, Africa and the United States of America participated in an Art Exhibit, organized by a local non-profit, Islamic Art Exhibit.

"We have so much diversity in the Bay Area Muslim community. In order to showcase their artistic talents and display the many characteristics of Islamic Art, we invited them to participate in an Art Exhibit based on the common theme of Peace," says Nabeela Sajjad, its founder.

Providing a number of verses from the Quran for inspiration and a set of rules, 41 artists submitted 75 pieces of artwork. One hundred Muslim children from the Bay Area also participated. Their theme is based on a song called "A is for Allah" by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens).

People view Islamic Art as mostly Calligraphy. While Calligraphy is genre of Art in its own right, Islamic Art includes a lot more. It has evolved and accepts new media through which artists can express themselves. With the prohibition of depicting human form or faces, Islamic Art has developed a unique character, utilizing a number of primary forms: geometric, arabesque, floral, and calligraphic, which are often interwoven. The result is an exhibition of paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor, photographs, traditional calligraphies, quilting, textile, digital collage and more.

http://www.tricityvoice.com/articlefiledisplay.php?issue=2011-06-28...