Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art

The theme for VCUarts Qtara’s 11th biennial Symposium on Islamic Art, Islam and Visual Culture in Contemporary Asia, aims for a fresh look at how Muslim communities across South, Southeast, and East Asia are engaging with Islamic art. The co-chairs, Hala Auji and Radha Dalal, have spent a good deal of time on the ground in cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul, meeting with curators, artists, and scholars to better understand how Islamic art is being produced, displayed, and lived in contemporary Asian contexts; this research has informed a Symposium that is both rigorous and responsive (says the promotional material). It brings together academic insight, creative practice, and lived experience to ask how Islamic art continues to evolve across geographies; from photomedia and textiles to architecture and community-based installations, the programme reflects a spectrum of artistic expression.