About this Event
Islam and Visual Culture in Contemporary Asia
The 11th Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art explores Muslim communities’ lived experiences through artistic engagement while challenging West Asian-centric narratives in Islamic art history. By focusing on traditionally overlooked practices in South, Southeast, and East Asia, the Symposium examines how Islamic visual practices intersect with diverse cultural communities across regional contexts. The event bridges historical and contemporary approaches, emphasizing organic connections between Islam and Asia while exploring evolving faith practices in daily Muslim life. Through themes of artist networks, urbanism, performance, communal memory, and migration, among others, the Symposium aims to dismantle conventional center-periphery hierarchies in favor of a pluralistic model with multiple cultural nodes.
As we consider these aims, several questions emerge: How might centering diverse Asian Muslim communities transform the field of Islamic art studies? In what ways can institutional and independent artistic collaborations challenge conventional definitions of “Islamic” art? How do transregional networks of artists navigate the complexities of religious identity across varied political landscapes? What new methodologies might emerge when we examine Islamic visual culture through multiple geographic and cultural lenses simultaneously? Through this Symposium, we hope to begin addressing these questions while creating space for both established academics and emerging voices to enrich the ongoing discourse.
The Symposium Co-Chairs are Hala Auji, Associate Professor of Art History and the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair for Islamic Art at VCUarts in Richmond and Radha Dalal, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture and Director of Art History at VCUarts Qatar.
The complete program and list of speakers is available online here. This is an in-person event, but the entire Symposium will be live-streamed; registrants may register for in-person or livestream tickets.
Symposium Program Overview
November 8 | 4 - 5pm exhibition opening for in-person guests, followed by keynote address: Yee I-Lann, The Surface Remembers: Decolonial
Groundwork from the Archipelago, 5-6:30pm.
November 9 | 9 - 10am Curating from Doha (panel); 10:10am - 1pm Unsettled Pasts, Urban Futures (panel); 2:10 - 4:45pm Acts of Faith, Sounds of Resilience (panel).
November 10 | 9 - 10am Karak on the Bisat (exhibition-related program); 10:15am - 1pm Gestures of Memory, Reimagined Terrains (panel); 2:10 - 4:45pm Tracing Presence, Blurring Boundaries (panel). A closing reception will be held at 4:45pm for in-person guests.
Please note that this event takes place in Doha, Qatar and all program times are given in Arabian Standard Time.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Al Luqta Street, Doha, Qatar
USD 0.00
