Faces of Faith

September 7 – October 27, 2024
Illuminating the Beauty of Islamic Art

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Series

A Space for Dialogue 120

About

Faces of Faith presents a focused look at a group of artists who engage in diverse forms of the Islamic visual tradition from the 11th century to the present. It begins with Quranic scriptures, calligraphy, and geometric patterning, modes that have long occupied a defining position in historical Islamic art. This is juxtaposed with photography and contemporary art prints that focus on the individual experience. This exhibition demonstrates that Islam is not a monolithic culture but a dynamic and rich faith.

What is Islamic art? What is the role of individual identity in the face of the universal principles of Islam? Faces of Faith argues for a complex response to these questions. Themes like gender and diaspora have long shaped feelings of identity and belonging. By engaging in these themes within the Islamic visual tradition, these artists both capture and contribute to the beauty and diversity of Muslim identity. Viewers are invited to explore the interconnected and enduring themes of resilience, empowerment, identity, and spirituality that infuse Islamic art.

A Space for Dialogue is a student-curated exhibition program that began in 2001. Hood Museum of Art interns create an installation drawn from the museum's permanent collection by engaging with every aspect of curation, from doing research and selecting objects, to choosing frames and a wall color, to planning a layout and writing labels and a brochure, to giving a public talk. There have been over 100 A Space for Dialogue exhibitions on a wide variety of themes.

A Space for Dialogue: Fresh Perspectives on the Permanent Collection from Dartmouth’s Students, founded with support from the Class of 1948, is made possible with generous endowments from the Class of 1967, Bonnie and Richard Reiss Jr. ’66, and Pamela J. Joyner ’79.

Exhibition Curator

Noor Najeeb '25

Exhibition subject: A Space for Dialogue