About

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.

Islamic Art Exhibit

Islamic Art Exhibit (IAE), a non-profit group, was founded in 2009 in San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Mission Statement:

“Islamic Art Exhibit seeks to promote Islamic Arts as well as provide a platform for the creative individuals of the Muslim Community. It seeks to build bridges between diverse communities through visual arts.”

Then…

The tradition of Islamic art has flourished throughout the world for 1400 years, with beautiful patterns and designs unique to the art manifested in forms such as architecture, calligraphy, painting and ceramics.

Now…

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.

Call to Artists…

Every year, IAE gives a Call to the artists inviting creative individuals to participate in a year long exhibit based on a theme provided by the organizers. All visual media including photographs, textile, ceramics and digital art/collages are accepted . A set of rules ensure the art work is acceptable as Islamic Art.

Venues…

The Islamic Art Exhibit has also been exhibited in various Bay Area Institutions.

    • Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Oakland
    • Salam Islamic Center, Sacramento
    • Sun Gallery, Hayward
    • Marin County Foundation, Navato
    • Euphrat Museum, Cupertino
    • Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara

The Islamic Art Exhibit has been exhibited in the following Bay Area Public Libraries.

    • Alameda Library
    • Antioch Library
    • Cupertino Library
    • El Cerrito Library
    • Fremont Main Library
    • Lafayette Library
    • MLK Jr. Library, San Jose
    • Pleasant Hill Library
    • Pleasanton Library
    • Santa Clara Library
    • Saratoga Library

 

The Board of Directors

Nabeela Sajjad (Founder & CEO)
Lubna Achikzai (Co-Founder)
Aasia Saeed (Secretary)
Taskeen Fatehdin (Treasurer)
Ayesha Samdani (Board Member)
Tahir Anwar (Religious Adviser)