Representing Islam and Muslims in Islamic Art Exhibitions

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The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world, which is part of the British Museum, located in London, was selected as one of the two exhibitions for critical review. The official goal of this museum is to store and replenish the collection of representatives of various world cultures for their further research and exhibit. The main motive of the gallery is the broadest possible representation of the worldwide Islamic culture both in territorial and in time frames. It is important to note that “the Museum’s curators and conservators have worked together to showcase 1607 objects that have never been displayed before” (The British Museum). The exhibition is available for visiting at the moment, and also there will be an introductory lecture related to the gallery materials on March 31.

The second gallery is the Islamic Art collections of the Benaki Museum, the home of which is the city of Athens. The mission of this museum, in general, coincides with the ideas of the British Museum; however, special attention is paid to educating the public and building cultural ties with local and international communities. The collections offer a look at the course of history through the prism of Muslim culture. The number of exhibits of the Muslim art of the Benaki Museum totals “more than 8,000 works of art” (Benaki Museum). Until March 6, the museum holds special tours under the guidance of curators. Today, the exhibition is available for guests for a free visit.

From the perspective of anthropological observation, The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world represents Islam not only as faith but also as ideology and culture whose goal is to unite different peoples. The authors and creators of the exhibition show Muslim communities as diverse “interconnected worlds” from “West Africa to Southeast Asia” (The British Museum). Within the framework of Islamic art, the exhibition offers visitors not only ancient and contemporary artworks, but also clothing, household items, coins, jewelry, and weapons. The concept of Islamic art is defined there as a centuries-old cross-ethnic tradition of written, visual, and material culture.

According to the creators of the gallery, the concept of Islam implies a centuries-old civilization. Major themes of Muslims and Islamic Art are mostly similar to the ideas of the gallery of the British Museum. However, the Islamic Art collections do not cover the Muslim communities of the region of Southeast Asia and do not raise the topic of identification of modern Muslims (Benaki Museum). While The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world emphasizes the importance of Muslim art in the contemporary world, the exhibition in Greece is limited only by the past until the 19th century.

The British Museum exhibition is available for viewers both in the in-gallery collection and online. The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world takes place in the central zone of the British Museum and is divided into two sections according to time intervals. It is possible to note that “gallery 42 covers the period up to 1500” and “gallery 43 covers the period from 1500 the present day” (The British Museum). In the center of the exhibition, there are five window screens for creating focus and the corresponding atmosphere (The British Museum). Showcases with multiple exhibits are placed along the walls of two sections.

Also, the walls of the exhibition are decorated with unique illustrations (fig. 1) created specifically for this project (The British Museum). The online version of the gallery is a list of exhibits with information on each of them. This information is divided into categories such as the type of object, a detailed description, location and production, age, chronicle of previous exhibitions, and also comments of specialists.

Just like the gallery of the British Museum, the Islamic Art collections are available for both physical and virtual visits. From an architectural point of view, the building is a complex of one three-story and one two-story building, and both of them are made in the neoclassical style (Benaki Museum). The organization of the presentation of exhibits is made in the standard design for museums and does not have any original conceptual features. The information provided is much scarcer than in the Albukhary Foundation Gallery and consists of a brief description of the object, its size, and age. It is essential to mention the exciting location of the collection as Greek-oriented historical buildings surround it.

The narrative of the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic world follows one of the main principles of the concept of Islam. Researchers note that “Islam is a blueprint of the social order/a way of life” (Studying Islam & Muslim Societies,” slide 8). The illustrations that were mentioned above recreate one of the stages of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca sacred for all Muslims (The British Museum). Visitors learn about the diverse ways of life of different Muslim communities through partial participation in their ritual practices. They also learn the history of the emergence, spread, and development of Islam over many centuries in different parts of the world. Such an unforgettable experience provides a much higher emotional and cognitive effect.

The Islamic Art collections of the Benaki Museum do not have any single plot or several separate narratives. Nevertheless, the creators and curators of the exhibition pay the most attention to “the two carved wooden memorial door panels from 8th century Mesopotamia” (fig. 2) (Benaki Museum). The great importance of this region explains it, in particular, the territory along the Euphrates River, for Muslims, especially for Shiites.

In this place, namely in Karbala, Martyrdom of Imam Husayn occurred, which the Shiite community still commemorates (“Commemorating the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn”). For the introduction of Islamic culture, the creators of the collections send visitors “back to the origins of Islam in the 7th century to know what Islam was originally about” (“Studying Islam & Muslim Societies: Academic Frameworks,” slide 9). This is a crucial conceptual difference between these two exhibitions.

References

Benaki Museum. Benaki Museum, 2016. Web.

“Commemorating the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn.” 2019. PowerPoint Presentation.

“Studying Islam & Muslim Societies: Academic Frameworks.”. 2019. PowerPoint Presentation.

The British Museum. The Trustees of the British Museum, 2020. Web.

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Representing Islam and Muslims in Islamic Art Exhibitions

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