Established and emerging B.C.-based members of Ismaili Artists Canada show the humanistic approach of Islam and share their experiences through paintings, photographs, calligraphy, and ceramics in the exhibition Change: Contemporary Ismaili Muslim Art, on now at the Surrey Art Gallery.
Visitors will see works ranging from images of local scenes to landscapes of Africa and India; and from symbolic works that express ideas of peace and harmony to abstract compositions that explore the ideas of change and cycles.
Ismaili Artists of Canada is an independent organization that promotes and supports visual media artists. The vision, mission, and core values of the organization are collectively embodied in the statement ‘leading art’, as manifested through art as a medium for progressive change while demonstrating the rich history of Islamic tradition and Qur’anic inspiration full of allegories, metaphors, and symbols.
The Surrey exhibition draws from Islamic history and the Ismaili tradition, and inspires the artists to seek out the sacred as they go beyond the physical form.
The participating artists are Aziz Dhamani, Jalal Gilani, Yasmin P. Karim, Azmina Kassam, Sher Nasser, Alia Noormohamed, Shahira Patni-Tejpar, Alnoor Ramji and Taslim Samji.
Change: Contemporary Ismaili Muslim Art is on display now through Aug. 9. Admission is free.
The Surrey Art Gallery is located at 13750 88 Ave. Phone 604-501-5566 or check www.surrey.ca/artgallery for further information.
