Arts & Culture

During the Diamond Jubilee Art Festivals, we witnessed with delight, galleries filled with paintings, sculptures, installation art, and photographs. Here, we depict women, as seen by some of them, and displayed at the various exhibitions.

Women have been artists since prehistoric times but have often been discouraged, marginalized and omitted from the history of art. This changed in the 20th century and today, women are amongst the most prolific artists, musicians, and writers including in the Muslim world. Some prominent contemporary examples are artists such as Shahzia Sikander, Nilima Sheikh, and Salima Arastu.

The art of calligraphy is one that embraces tradition, but it has also evolved over the ages. With the advent of computer graphics and other technologies, new perspectives on this timeless art form have afforded artists with opportunities to experiment. 

On 23 October, Prince Amyn was presented with the 2018 Hadrian Award by World Monuments Fund (WMF) Chair Lorna B. Goodman, who paid tribute to his “generous, thoughtful, responsible, and engaged” contribution to WMF. In his acceptance remarks, Prince Amyn emphasised the importance of monuments, and ensuring that they are self-sustaining and accepted by local communities.

“Diversity is not a burden to be endured, but an opportunity to be welcomed,” said Melia Belli, Associate Professor of South Asian art history at the University of Victoria, in her opening remarks. The occasion was the Islamic Art Symposium entitled “Intersections: Visual Cultures of Islamic Cosmopolitanism,” held at the Dallas Museum of Art between May 4-5. It was cosponsored with the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, Islamic Art Revival Series, and the Aga Khan Council for the Central United States.