Special Aga Khan Museum collection on display at Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology
Excerpt:
The exhibit will also feature collections from the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, including contemporary artworks and Islamic calligraphic work along with the museum’s Asian collection.
A reception to open the exhibit is set for May 11, with opening remarks by Prince Amyn Aga Khan, brother of His Highness the Aga Khan and lifelong supporter of the arts.
The multimedia exhibition will be on display until October 9, 2017.
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/museum-o ... ds-exhibit
Aga Khan Museum - TO
Video: Opening of ‘Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia’ exhibition at UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, Canada
VIDEO
https://www.facebook.com/theismaili/vid ... 894981078/
VIDEO
https://www.facebook.com/theismaili/vid ... 894981078/
Toronto Gallery Openings: Place And Placement; Robert Burley; Syrian Symphony
The Aga Khan Museum partners with Silkroad, the arts org founded by Yo-Yo Ma, for a show of multimedia artistic responses to the war in Syria.
BY FRAN SCHECHTER
Syrian Symphony: New Compositions In Sight And Sound, at Aga Khan Museum, May 20 to August 17.
The AKM partners with Silkroad, the arts org founded by Yo-Yo Ma, for this show of multimedia artistic responses to the war in Syria: a collaboration between clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and visual artists Kevork Mourad, a theatrical installation with a painting by Ahmad Moualla, a virtual recreation of destroyed monuments in Palmyra and installations about Syrian refugees in Canada.
https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/ar ... -symphony/
The Aga Khan Museum partners with Silkroad, the arts org founded by Yo-Yo Ma, for a show of multimedia artistic responses to the war in Syria.
BY FRAN SCHECHTER
Syrian Symphony: New Compositions In Sight And Sound, at Aga Khan Museum, May 20 to August 17.
The AKM partners with Silkroad, the arts org founded by Yo-Yo Ma, for this show of multimedia artistic responses to the war in Syria: a collaboration between clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and visual artists Kevork Mourad, a theatrical installation with a painting by Ahmad Moualla, a virtual recreation of destroyed monuments in Palmyra and installations about Syrian refugees in Canada.
https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/ar ... -symphony/
14th-century Persian poet Hafez a guide for today's Iranian-Canadians
Iranian engineer lectures on how renowned poet Hafez is viewed in the West
Hafez, the 14th-century Persian poet, still draws a crowd, if the hundreds of Iranians gathering this weekend for several presentations are any evidence.
Nasser Kanani, an expert in electrochemistry, is the guest speaker, better known in engineering circles for his textbook on electroplating, rather than his recently-published two-volume study of the poet called Hafez and His Divan As Viewed By the West.
Mohandez, the Canadian society of Iranian engineers and architects, sponsored Kanani's lectures at Toronto's Aga Khan Museum and an Iranian community centre.
Unusual mix: Electrochemistry and poetry
Electrochemistry and poetry aren't your usual mix of engineering specialties but Kanani says the poems of Hafez transcend the boundaries between the sciences and literature.
"Everybody believes that he has discovered Hafez for himself or herself," said Kanani. "And the interpretation will be a never-ending process."
More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/1 ... -1.4113808
Iranian engineer lectures on how renowned poet Hafez is viewed in the West
Hafez, the 14th-century Persian poet, still draws a crowd, if the hundreds of Iranians gathering this weekend for several presentations are any evidence.
Nasser Kanani, an expert in electrochemistry, is the guest speaker, better known in engineering circles for his textbook on electroplating, rather than his recently-published two-volume study of the poet called Hafez and His Divan As Viewed By the West.
Mohandez, the Canadian society of Iranian engineers and architects, sponsored Kanani's lectures at Toronto's Aga Khan Museum and an Iranian community centre.
Unusual mix: Electrochemistry and poetry
Electrochemistry and poetry aren't your usual mix of engineering specialties but Kanani says the poems of Hafez transcend the boundaries between the sciences and literature.
"Everybody believes that he has discovered Hafez for himself or herself," said Kanani. "And the interpretation will be a never-ending process."
More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/1 ... -1.4113808
"The Sultan and the Saint"(AKM)(ICT)June8/11
Canadian Premiere of "The Sultan and the Saint"
Narrated by Academy Award Winner Jeremy Irons
The true story of St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt
and the risks they took for peace.
June 8 | Aga Khan Museum | 7:30 pm
June 11 | Ismaili Centre, Toronto | 7:30 pm
Tickets: $12
Limited seating available at both venues. Purchase your tickets now!
Purchase Tickets | June 8 | Aga Khan Museum
Purchase Tickets | June 11 | Ismaili Centre Toronto
In partnership with:
The Sultan and the Saint film tells one of the great, lost stories from history. Set in a past period of East-West conflict, it speaks with urgency to our present. Two men of faith, one a traveling Christian preacher, the other the ruler of a Muslim Empire, bucked a century of war, distrust, and insidious propaganda in a search for mutual respect and common ground. Merging cinematic re-enactments with interviews featuring renowned historians, religious thinkers, and other experts, this unusual film explores the little-known encounter in 1219 between Malik Al-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt, and a Christian friar later known as St. Francis of Assisi. Discover in this Canadian premiere how their meeting helped change the course of history — and what the 21st century might learn from their insights. Learn more about the film here or see the preview.
You are receiving this email from His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada and its affiliated local councils, because you have previously provided your email, and/or attended an event at the Ismaili Centre, Toronto. To unsubscribe please click here
The Ismaili Centre, Toronto
49 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1K1
Canadian Premiere of "The Sultan and the Saint"
Narrated by Academy Award Winner Jeremy Irons
The true story of St. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt
and the risks they took for peace.
June 8 | Aga Khan Museum | 7:30 pm
June 11 | Ismaili Centre, Toronto | 7:30 pm
Tickets: $12
Limited seating available at both venues. Purchase your tickets now!
Purchase Tickets | June 8 | Aga Khan Museum
Purchase Tickets | June 11 | Ismaili Centre Toronto
In partnership with:
The Sultan and the Saint film tells one of the great, lost stories from history. Set in a past period of East-West conflict, it speaks with urgency to our present. Two men of faith, one a traveling Christian preacher, the other the ruler of a Muslim Empire, bucked a century of war, distrust, and insidious propaganda in a search for mutual respect and common ground. Merging cinematic re-enactments with interviews featuring renowned historians, religious thinkers, and other experts, this unusual film explores the little-known encounter in 1219 between Malik Al-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt, and a Christian friar later known as St. Francis of Assisi. Discover in this Canadian premiere how their meeting helped change the course of history — and what the 21st century might learn from their insights. Learn more about the film here or see the preview.
You are receiving this email from His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada and its affiliated local councils, because you have previously provided your email, and/or attended an event at the Ismaili Centre, Toronto. To unsubscribe please click here
The Ismaili Centre, Toronto
49 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1K1
Workshop
Take part in a free interactive workshops on Museum grounds. Toronto-based choreographer Puja Amin and Sanskriti Arts dancers and musicians teach audiences Garba, an energetic Gujrati dance that incorporates sticks or dandiyas. At this performance and workshop, meet Sanskriti Arts’ energetic team and learn the history of the dance, as well as key moves. No dance experience is required. Simply come to the Museum grounds in comfortable clothes.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... kriti-arts
Take part in a free interactive workshops on Museum grounds. Toronto-based choreographer Puja Amin and Sanskriti Arts dancers and musicians teach audiences Garba, an energetic Gujrati dance that incorporates sticks or dandiyas. At this performance and workshop, meet Sanskriti Arts’ energetic team and learn the history of the dance, as well as key moves. No dance experience is required. Simply come to the Museum grounds in comfortable clothes.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... kriti-arts
Sacred Spirit with Parvathy Baul
Thursday, August 24, 8 pm
Parvathy Baul first encountered “Baul,” the sacred Bengali musical form after which she took her current name, on a train journey to Bolpar, India. In the decades since, she has become one of the tradition’s most accomplished interpreters, studying with Baul masters and sharing the form with audiences in more than 40 countries. In this powerful showcase performance, be inspired and transported as Parvathy Baul takes to our stage, interpreting Baul through mystic song and dance.
More..
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... vathy-baul
Thursday, August 24, 8 pm
Parvathy Baul first encountered “Baul,” the sacred Bengali musical form after which she took her current name, on a train journey to Bolpar, India. In the decades since, she has become one of the tradition’s most accomplished interpreters, studying with Baul masters and sharing the form with audiences in more than 40 countries. In this powerful showcase performance, be inspired and transported as Parvathy Baul takes to our stage, interpreting Baul through mystic song and dance.
More..
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... vathy-baul
Conferences & Symposia
Gain an insider’s perspective on the seldom-seen artworks in the Bruschettini Collection from Islamic art experts including Sheila R. Canby (Metropolitan Museum) and Dr. Claus-Peter Haase (Free University of Berlin), art collector and carpet connoisseur Alberto Boralevi, and Aga Khan Museum Curator Dr. Filiz Çakır Phillip.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... collection
Gain an insider’s perspective on the seldom-seen artworks in the Bruschettini Collection from Islamic art experts including Sheila R. Canby (Metropolitan Museum) and Dr. Claus-Peter Haase (Free University of Berlin), art collector and carpet connoisseur Alberto Boralevi, and Aga Khan Museum Curator Dr. Filiz Çakır Phillip.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... collection
Discover The Aga Khan Museum
On The Go Toronto Magazine | Advice | Discover The Aga Khan Museum
post
Discover The Aga Khan Museum
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agaKhan
Discover The Aga Khan Museum
A visit to the Aga Khan Museum is a visit for all the senses. Experience a stunning building surrounded by formal gardens and a public park. The Museum offers worlds of discovery — and something for all ages and interests.
Engage with a historic collection, contemporary exhibitions, and centuries of vibrant cross-cultural exchange.
• View Museum-wide temporary art installations that celebrate the diversity of 21 artists.
• Explore the arts of world civilizations through talks, tours, and hands-on workshops.
• Engage with live music and dance, film screenings, and surprising Pop-up Performances.
• Find unique gifts sourced from around the globe to complement the Museum’s Collection and exhibitions.
• Savour the cuisine of Master Chef Mark Mc Ewan against the backdrop of historic decor.
Find the Aga Khan Museum on Wynford Drive just off the Don Valley Parkway.
http://www.onthego.to/advice-category/d ... -museum-2/
On The Go Toronto Magazine | Advice | Discover The Aga Khan Museum
post
Discover The Aga Khan Museum
Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedin
agaKhan
Discover The Aga Khan Museum
A visit to the Aga Khan Museum is a visit for all the senses. Experience a stunning building surrounded by formal gardens and a public park. The Museum offers worlds of discovery — and something for all ages and interests.
Engage with a historic collection, contemporary exhibitions, and centuries of vibrant cross-cultural exchange.
• View Museum-wide temporary art installations that celebrate the diversity of 21 artists.
• Explore the arts of world civilizations through talks, tours, and hands-on workshops.
• Engage with live music and dance, film screenings, and surprising Pop-up Performances.
• Find unique gifts sourced from around the globe to complement the Museum’s Collection and exhibitions.
• Savour the cuisine of Master Chef Mark Mc Ewan against the backdrop of historic decor.
Find the Aga Khan Museum on Wynford Drive just off the Don Valley Parkway.
http://www.onthego.to/advice-category/d ... -museum-2/
Special Programming
On Saturday, September 30, the Aga Khan Museum presents an immersive evening of unforgettable programming during Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s annual all-night art event.
From 7 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday in the Aga Khan Park, experience the Canadian premiere of a monumental multimedia installation by acclaimed New York-based artist Shahzia Sikander. The dazzling Disruption as Rapture features animated miniature illustrations from an 18th-century manuscript of the Gulshan-i ’Ishq ("Rose Garden of Love").*
At 7 pm in the Ismaili Centre, Toronto, across from the Aga Khan Museum, Sikander discusses her Nuit Blanche installation and her practice as a contemporary artist from Pakistan.
From 8 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday, enjoy free performances by award-winning indie bands and renowned international artists, including:
Doomsquad
Members of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
Ben Shemie from Suuns
Sufi music and whirling in celebration of the 810th anniversary of Rumi’s birthday
Plus, the rare chance to experience sunrise raags, and more.
Performances take place in the Aga Khan Museum courtyard and auditorium, as well as in the communal spaces of two Mongolian yurts, traditional nomadic structures, installed for Nuit Blanche in the Aga Khan Park. For performance venues, times, and details, see schedule below.
On Nuit Blanche, from 7 pm to midnight, admission to the Aga Khan Museum galleries is by contribution.
*A scene from a 17th-century version of the Gulshan-i ‘Ishq, the story interpreted in Disruption as Rapture, will be on display in the Museum’s first-floor gallery.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... anche-2017
On Saturday, September 30, the Aga Khan Museum presents an immersive evening of unforgettable programming during Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s annual all-night art event.
From 7 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday in the Aga Khan Park, experience the Canadian premiere of a monumental multimedia installation by acclaimed New York-based artist Shahzia Sikander. The dazzling Disruption as Rapture features animated miniature illustrations from an 18th-century manuscript of the Gulshan-i ’Ishq ("Rose Garden of Love").*
At 7 pm in the Ismaili Centre, Toronto, across from the Aga Khan Museum, Sikander discusses her Nuit Blanche installation and her practice as a contemporary artist from Pakistan.
From 8 pm Saturday to 6 am Sunday, enjoy free performances by award-winning indie bands and renowned international artists, including:
Doomsquad
Members of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
Ben Shemie from Suuns
Sufi music and whirling in celebration of the 810th anniversary of Rumi’s birthday
Plus, the rare chance to experience sunrise raags, and more.
Performances take place in the Aga Khan Museum courtyard and auditorium, as well as in the communal spaces of two Mongolian yurts, traditional nomadic structures, installed for Nuit Blanche in the Aga Khan Park. For performance venues, times, and details, see schedule below.
On Nuit Blanche, from 7 pm to midnight, admission to the Aga Khan Museum galleries is by contribution.
*A scene from a 17th-century version of the Gulshan-i ‘Ishq, the story interpreted in Disruption as Rapture, will be on display in the Museum’s first-floor gallery.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... anche-2017
Annual Lecture
Orhan Pamuk: The Future of Museums is Inside Our Homes
Sunday, October 29, 2–4 pm
$40, $36 Friends, $20 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission
Join us in welcoming Orhan Pamuk, novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2006), and now, presenter of the Aga Khan Museum’s third Annual Lecture. Pamuk discusses his manifesto and the making of his own Museum of Innocence in Istanbul. Don’t miss what promises to be a fascinating illustrated exploration of museums that celebrates the depths of our humanity.
Tickets to this event include same-day Museum admission.
Orhan Pamuk: The Future of Museums is Inside Our Homes
Sunday, October 29, 2–4 pm
$40, $36 Friends, $20 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission
Join us in welcoming Orhan Pamuk, novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2006), and now, presenter of the Aga Khan Museum’s third Annual Lecture. Pamuk discusses his manifesto and the making of his own Museum of Innocence in Istanbul. Don’t miss what promises to be a fascinating illustrated exploration of museums that celebrates the depths of our humanity.
Tickets to this event include same-day Museum admission.
Friends of the Aga Khan Museum launched in Dubai
The Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was opened at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue
Dubai: Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was launched at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue.
The Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was opened at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue, and will offer visitors a chance to see the contributions of Islamic civilisations to the world heritage.
Launched by Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the museum offers a window into worlds that are often unknown or unfamiliar to museum goers, such as the many Muslim civilisations that have made artistic, intellectual, and scientific innovations across centuries and spanning regions from the Iberian Peninsula to China.
“The interaction between the museum and the patrons will benefit not only the museum and its patrons but also the global society of the UAE,” said Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. “I sense that you patrons who are willing to share your resources and your personal collections with the Aga Khan Museum fully understand the essential value of pluralism.”
“The artefacts in the museum convey a clear sense of Muslim diversity, a diversity that deserves global prominence,” he said.
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/fr ... -1.2109148
*******
Museums need to reinvent themselves to get people's interest, says Aga Khan Museum director
"What are art and culture? How can they enhance the quality of life and make lives better?”
These were some of the questions answered by director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, Dr Henry Kim, during his talk at the Aga Khan University’s Special Lecture Series on Thursday.
More..
https://images.dawn.com/news/1178655
The Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was opened at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue
Dubai: Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was launched at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue.
The Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia was opened at Concrete, a new space on Alserkal Avenue, and will offer visitors a chance to see the contributions of Islamic civilisations to the world heritage.
Launched by Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the museum offers a window into worlds that are often unknown or unfamiliar to museum goers, such as the many Muslim civilisations that have made artistic, intellectual, and scientific innovations across centuries and spanning regions from the Iberian Peninsula to China.
“The interaction between the museum and the patrons will benefit not only the museum and its patrons but also the global society of the UAE,” said Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. “I sense that you patrons who are willing to share your resources and your personal collections with the Aga Khan Museum fully understand the essential value of pluralism.”
“The artefacts in the museum convey a clear sense of Muslim diversity, a diversity that deserves global prominence,” he said.
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/fr ... -1.2109148
*******
Museums need to reinvent themselves to get people's interest, says Aga Khan Museum director
"What are art and culture? How can they enhance the quality of life and make lives better?”
These were some of the questions answered by director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, Dr Henry Kim, during his talk at the Aga Khan University’s Special Lecture Series on Thursday.
More..
https://images.dawn.com/news/1178655
http://www.blogto.com/film/2017/10/toro ... ek-series/
Toronto can add "Vulcan" to the long list of places it's played on TV thanks to last night's episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
The new Space and CBS series, which premiered last month, has been filming in The 6ix since January 2017.
If you aren't aware, Star Trek Discovery is filmed in Toronto and this is sooooo the Aga Khan Museum. October 23, 2017
Knowing this, fans figured it would only be a matter of time before a local landmark worked its way into the show – I mean, it's happened before.
As Redditors were quick to point out in a thread about Sunday evening's episode, City Hall appeared in a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as a destination in the Iconian Gateway.
Last night, nearly 30 years later, it was Toronto's Aga Khan Musem that popped up in the Star Trek universe – this time as part of the planet Vulcan.
The scenes on Vulcan in tonight's #StarTrekDiscovery were filmed at the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic art and Muslim culture. pic.twitter.com/NWa9O2YY5H
— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) October 23, 2017
Very cool, and it could be just one of many future Discovery cameos for Toronto.
The show was just renewed for a second season in light of fantastic ratings and much critical acclaim.
A prequel to earlier Trek storylines, Discovery follows the crew of the USS Discovery during a war between The Klingons and the Federation.
Lead photo by
Space TV / screenshot
Toronto can add "Vulcan" to the long list of places it's played on TV thanks to last night's episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
The new Space and CBS series, which premiered last month, has been filming in The 6ix since January 2017.
If you aren't aware, Star Trek Discovery is filmed in Toronto and this is sooooo the Aga Khan Museum. October 23, 2017
Knowing this, fans figured it would only be a matter of time before a local landmark worked its way into the show – I mean, it's happened before.
As Redditors were quick to point out in a thread about Sunday evening's episode, City Hall appeared in a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as a destination in the Iconian Gateway.
Last night, nearly 30 years later, it was Toronto's Aga Khan Musem that popped up in the Star Trek universe – this time as part of the planet Vulcan.
The scenes on Vulcan in tonight's #StarTrekDiscovery were filmed at the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic art and Muslim culture. pic.twitter.com/NWa9O2YY5H
— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) October 23, 2017
Very cool, and it could be just one of many future Discovery cameos for Toronto.
The show was just renewed for a second season in light of fantastic ratings and much critical acclaim.
A prequel to earlier Trek storylines, Discovery follows the crew of the USS Discovery during a war between The Klingons and the Federation.
Lead photo by
Space TV / screenshot
Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah visited His Highness Aga Khan's Museum of Islamic Arts in Ontario, after his participation at the Halifax International Security Forum.
https://twitter.com/afgexecutive/status ... 72/photo/1
https://twitter.com/afgexecutive/status ... 72/photo/1
Skate Girls of Kabul
Sep 5 2017 to Oct 29 2017
“It’s hard not to think of Afghan girls skateboarding as an unlikely clash of cultures. But when you see these children tearing around the skate park, shrieking with laughter, your preconceptions drop away... I hope that this collection captures something of their spirit: their joy in life, their individuality, and their community.” — Jessica Fulford-Dobson
Award-winning British photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson travelled to Afghanistan in the summer of 2013 and the summer of 2014 to document young girls participating in a unique program called Skateistan — an international NGO founded in 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan, to provide girls with a place to skate safely and a route into education.
Fulford-Dobson visited Skateistan for a total of six weeks and her engaging photographs from her time there deftly undermine cultural, religious, and gender stereotypes. Collected in a book called Skate Girls of Kabul and now exhibited in the Aga Khan Park, these photographs present an uncomplicated celebration of childhood and girl power.
Guest Curator
Marianne Fenton
Artist
Jessica Fulford-Dobson
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/skate-girls-kabul
Sep 5 2017 to Oct 29 2017
“It’s hard not to think of Afghan girls skateboarding as an unlikely clash of cultures. But when you see these children tearing around the skate park, shrieking with laughter, your preconceptions drop away... I hope that this collection captures something of their spirit: their joy in life, their individuality, and their community.” — Jessica Fulford-Dobson
Award-winning British photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson travelled to Afghanistan in the summer of 2013 and the summer of 2014 to document young girls participating in a unique program called Skateistan — an international NGO founded in 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan, to provide girls with a place to skate safely and a route into education.
Fulford-Dobson visited Skateistan for a total of six weeks and her engaging photographs from her time there deftly undermine cultural, religious, and gender stereotypes. Collected in a book called Skate Girls of Kabul and now exhibited in the Aga Khan Park, these photographs present an uncomplicated celebration of childhood and girl power.
Guest Curator
Marianne Fenton
Artist
Jessica Fulford-Dobson
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/skate-girls-kabul
Lecture
Spiritual Foundations of the Fatimids
Sunday, March 25, 2–3 pm
$20, $18 Friends, $12 students and seniors
Did you know that the Fatimid caliphs were also the imams (spiritual leaders) of Shia Ismaili Muslims? Serving as Ismaili imams before becoming Fatimid caliphs, these leaders continued to be acknowledged as imams long after establishing the Fatimid caliphate. Today, the Fatimids continue to be generally referred to as “imam-caliphs.”
In this lecture, Dr. Farhad Daftary investigates the roots of the Fatimids as imams and spiritual leaders of an important Shia community, revealing how the Ismaili connection of the Fatimid caliphs served to extend beyond the borders of the Fatimid state — and ensure the survival of Ismailism long after the decline of the Fatimid dynasty.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... s-fatimids
Spiritual Foundations of the Fatimids
Sunday, March 25, 2–3 pm
$20, $18 Friends, $12 students and seniors
Did you know that the Fatimid caliphs were also the imams (spiritual leaders) of Shia Ismaili Muslims? Serving as Ismaili imams before becoming Fatimid caliphs, these leaders continued to be acknowledged as imams long after establishing the Fatimid caliphate. Today, the Fatimids continue to be generally referred to as “imam-caliphs.”
In this lecture, Dr. Farhad Daftary investigates the roots of the Fatimids as imams and spiritual leaders of an important Shia community, revealing how the Ismaili connection of the Fatimid caliphs served to extend beyond the borders of the Fatimid state — and ensure the survival of Ismailism long after the decline of the Fatimid dynasty.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... s-fatimids
The World of the Fatimids
Mar 10 2018 to Jul 2 2018
The World of the Fatimids bears witness to a remarkable dynasty that built the world’s oldest university, compiled one of its greatest libraries, and fostered a flowering of the arts and sciences. At its height in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Fatimids established one of the greatest civilizations in the world, influencing knowledge and culture throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Near East.
The exhibition marks the first time a carefully selected collection of masterpieces from the Fatimid dynasty are shown in North America. Among the objects are monumental marble reliefs, never before shown abroad, from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, luxury objects ranging from rock crystal and ivory to ceramic lusterware — a technique mastered during Fatimid times — and masterpieces of metalware. Drone videography and 360 virtual reality films conjure up Cairo, the Fatimids’ flourishing capital, and offer insight into what the city was like a millennium ago.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/world-fatimids
Mar 10 2018 to Jul 2 2018
The World of the Fatimids bears witness to a remarkable dynasty that built the world’s oldest university, compiled one of its greatest libraries, and fostered a flowering of the arts and sciences. At its height in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Fatimids established one of the greatest civilizations in the world, influencing knowledge and culture throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Near East.
The exhibition marks the first time a carefully selected collection of masterpieces from the Fatimid dynasty are shown in North America. Among the objects are monumental marble reliefs, never before shown abroad, from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, luxury objects ranging from rock crystal and ivory to ceramic lusterware — a technique mastered during Fatimid times — and masterpieces of metalware. Drone videography and 360 virtual reality films conjure up Cairo, the Fatimids’ flourishing capital, and offer insight into what the city was like a millennium ago.
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/world-fatimids
The World of the Fatimids: Opening March 2018
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... V08y-ltv_0
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... V08y-ltv_0
A MUSEUM LIKE NO OTHER
The Aga Khan Museum is one of Toronto’s crown jewels. This great cultural tapestry is all about connecting cultures through art and showing the interconnectivity and storied history of numerous relics dating back centuries.
Fumihiko Maki, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, designed the museum with light as his inspiration, reflecting the importance of patterns and light found in Islamic culture. With its contemporary design and the incorporation of historical elements originating in Islamic cultures, the museum “build[s] bridges between eras as well as civilizations.”
Featured at the museum is a permanent collection gathered by His Highness the Aga Khan and his family over several generations. The permanent collection showcases the breadth of Muslim civilizations from the 8th century to the present day, and includes more than 1,000 artifacts such as rare manuscripts, paintings, ceramics, glass, scientific instruments, intricate metalwork, and carved and painted wood objects.
The aim of the museum is to offer “unique insights and new perspectives into Islamic civilizations and the cultural threads that weave through history binding us together.”
Currently, the Aga Khan Museum is hosting a world premiere exhibition, “Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection.” Coming from Genoa, Italy, the collection introduces Canada and international audiences to one of the world’s most important private collections of Islamic art, in an selection exclusive to the Aga Khan Museum.
More...
https://dolcemag.com/web-exclusives/a-m ... ther/27326
The Aga Khan Museum is one of Toronto’s crown jewels. This great cultural tapestry is all about connecting cultures through art and showing the interconnectivity and storied history of numerous relics dating back centuries.
Fumihiko Maki, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, designed the museum with light as his inspiration, reflecting the importance of patterns and light found in Islamic culture. With its contemporary design and the incorporation of historical elements originating in Islamic cultures, the museum “build[s] bridges between eras as well as civilizations.”
Featured at the museum is a permanent collection gathered by His Highness the Aga Khan and his family over several generations. The permanent collection showcases the breadth of Muslim civilizations from the 8th century to the present day, and includes more than 1,000 artifacts such as rare manuscripts, paintings, ceramics, glass, scientific instruments, intricate metalwork, and carved and painted wood objects.
The aim of the museum is to offer “unique insights and new perspectives into Islamic civilizations and the cultural threads that weave through history binding us together.”
Currently, the Aga Khan Museum is hosting a world premiere exhibition, “Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection.” Coming from Genoa, Italy, the collection introduces Canada and international audiences to one of the world’s most important private collections of Islamic art, in an selection exclusive to the Aga Khan Museum.
More...
https://dolcemag.com/web-exclusives/a-m ... ther/27326
Listening to Art, Seeing Music
Jan 20 2018 to Apr 22 2018
Join us for a truly unique, multi-sensory experience as the Aga Khan Museum transforms into a mesmerizing world of music celebrating the living traditions of the Muslim world and their interaction with other cultures through time and space.
Immersive musical soundscapes and video installations featuring music from the Mediterranean, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Central Asia combine with intimate displays of Middle Eastern instruments and related artifacts from the Museum’s Permanent Collection to invite visitors on a spellbinding journey of discovery. Spaces throughout the Museum — including the Bellerive Room, the Museum Collections, and even our Diwan restaurant — will come alive through and with music.
Listening to Art, Seeing Music offers ample opportunity to engage directly with musicians and musical traditions. At the heart of it all, in the Museum’s central courtyard, a Mongolian yurt — traditionally a warm communal gathering space and shelter from the elements — welcomes visitors to listen to live music, join musical conversations, experience stories of music-making, and share a cup of tea.
More..
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/listening ... eing-music
Jan 20 2018 to Apr 22 2018
Join us for a truly unique, multi-sensory experience as the Aga Khan Museum transforms into a mesmerizing world of music celebrating the living traditions of the Muslim world and their interaction with other cultures through time and space.
Immersive musical soundscapes and video installations featuring music from the Mediterranean, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Central Asia combine with intimate displays of Middle Eastern instruments and related artifacts from the Museum’s Permanent Collection to invite visitors on a spellbinding journey of discovery. Spaces throughout the Museum — including the Bellerive Room, the Museum Collections, and even our Diwan restaurant — will come alive through and with music.
Listening to Art, Seeing Music offers ample opportunity to engage directly with musicians and musical traditions. At the heart of it all, in the Museum’s central courtyard, a Mongolian yurt — traditionally a warm communal gathering space and shelter from the elements — welcomes visitors to listen to live music, join musical conversations, experience stories of music-making, and share a cup of tea.
More..
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/listening ... eing-music
Aga Khan Museum Initiates Patrons Circle In The Gulf
Friends of the Aga Khan Museum launches in the Gulf and South Asia calling for art enthusiasts to take a greater role in promoting cross-cultural arts, writes Ayesha Shaikh
Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum, the first in North America to house artworks from the Islamic world, launched late last year a cultural initiative in the Gulf and South Asia emphasising the region as an emerging hotbed for global art. Announced at Alserkal Avenue’s Concrete space in Dubai, Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia aims to build a regional network of individuals with a shared penchant for the diverse historic and contemporary art from the Islamic world. His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, who was present at the occasion, will serve as the honorary chairman of the Aga Khan Museum Patrons Circle in the UAE.
“There’s a real nexus, a real gathering together of the arts in this region,” says Henry S Kim, CEO and Director of Aga Khan Museum for the past five years, on this pivot towards the Gulf and South Asia. “We felt there was a need to create this “friends” group because these regions are going to contribute a lot to us, not only in terms of supporters who help the museum financially but also those who believe in the big picture of this museum.”
More...
https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/art ... initiative
Friends of the Aga Khan Museum launches in the Gulf and South Asia calling for art enthusiasts to take a greater role in promoting cross-cultural arts, writes Ayesha Shaikh
Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum, the first in North America to house artworks from the Islamic world, launched late last year a cultural initiative in the Gulf and South Asia emphasising the region as an emerging hotbed for global art. Announced at Alserkal Avenue’s Concrete space in Dubai, Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia aims to build a regional network of individuals with a shared penchant for the diverse historic and contemporary art from the Islamic world. His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, who was present at the occasion, will serve as the honorary chairman of the Aga Khan Museum Patrons Circle in the UAE.
“There’s a real nexus, a real gathering together of the arts in this region,” says Henry S Kim, CEO and Director of Aga Khan Museum for the past five years, on this pivot towards the Gulf and South Asia. “We felt there was a need to create this “friends” group because these regions are going to contribute a lot to us, not only in terms of supporters who help the museum financially but also those who believe in the big picture of this museum.”
More...
https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/art ... initiative
Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/bruschettini-collection
Sep 23 2017 to Jan 21 2018
From lavish textiles and intricately patterned carpets to colourful paintings, polychrome Iznik wares, and precious inlaid metalwork: the world premiere of Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection introduces Canadian and international audiences to a choice selection from one of the world’s most important private collections of Islamic art.
Handpicked by Dr. Alessandro Bruschettini in conversation with Aga Khan Museum Curator Filiz Çakır Phillip, the objects showcased in the exhibition, numbering more than 40 and dating from the 13th to 17th centuries, demonstrate remarkable vibrancy, variety, and technical perfection and represent the essence of this rarely exhibited collection.
A feast for the eyes, Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection illuminates the noble art of collecting and the enduring appeal of Islamic masterworks.
Curator
Dr. Filiz Çakır Phillip
******
Showcase Performance
Since 2016, our World Music Series has been connecting cultures and inspiring conversations. This season the series continues under a new banner of Global Conversations with the rhythms and sounds of Italy, Israel, Egypt, and beyond.
Experience an explosive combination of Yemeni song and poetry, Jewish music, West African groove, and funk that has made Yemen Blues one of the most exciting bands to come out of Israel in recent years. Renowned for its “uproarious” performances, the band has garnered wide acclaim around the globe.
Yemen Blues
Thursday, January 18, 8 pm
$50, $45 Friends, $37.50 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission
Round-trip shuttle service from Union Station available for $5
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... emen-blues
*****
AKM Online Shop
https://shop.agakhanmuseum.org/
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/bruschettini-collection
Sep 23 2017 to Jan 21 2018
From lavish textiles and intricately patterned carpets to colourful paintings, polychrome Iznik wares, and precious inlaid metalwork: the world premiere of Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection introduces Canadian and international audiences to a choice selection from one of the world’s most important private collections of Islamic art.
Handpicked by Dr. Alessandro Bruschettini in conversation with Aga Khan Museum Curator Filiz Çakır Phillip, the objects showcased in the exhibition, numbering more than 40 and dating from the 13th to 17th centuries, demonstrate remarkable vibrancy, variety, and technical perfection and represent the essence of this rarely exhibited collection.
A feast for the eyes, Arts of the East: Highlights of Islamic Art from the Bruschettini Collection illuminates the noble art of collecting and the enduring appeal of Islamic masterworks.
Curator
Dr. Filiz Çakır Phillip
******
Showcase Performance
Since 2016, our World Music Series has been connecting cultures and inspiring conversations. This season the series continues under a new banner of Global Conversations with the rhythms and sounds of Italy, Israel, Egypt, and beyond.
Experience an explosive combination of Yemeni song and poetry, Jewish music, West African groove, and funk that has made Yemen Blues one of the most exciting bands to come out of Israel in recent years. Renowned for its “uproarious” performances, the band has garnered wide acclaim around the globe.
Yemen Blues
Thursday, January 18, 8 pm
$50, $45 Friends, $37.50 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission
Round-trip shuttle service from Union Station available for $5
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/performin ... emen-blues
*****
AKM Online Shop
https://shop.agakhanmuseum.org/
Behind-The-Scenes installation of Mongolian yurt at the Aga Khan Museum
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHkPmmED-M
Straight from the Central Asian Steppe and handmade from felt and wood, the yurt is one of 10 immersive and interactive experiences as part of the museum’s latest exhibition, Listening to Art, Seeing Music. The yurt will feature pop-up performances from guests around the world (Syria, Ukraine, Iran, Turkey) and offer a warm, communal gathering space where visitors can listen to live music, exchange stories and share a cup of tea.
******
Aga Khan Museum embraces music to express ‘intangible culture’
Adding soundscapes to its galleries along with depictions of sonic creations of Muslim peoples worldwide.
The Aga Khan Museum has joined a growing number of institutions that are enhancing their exhibits with sound.
Three summers ago, the National Gallery in London, England, enticed visitors with a show called Soundscapes, encouraging them to “Hear the painting. See the sound.” The critics’ response was mixed, with the Telegraph calling the show “painfully unambitious.” The Evening Standard suggested paintings should “be seen and not heard.”
To dismiss the Aga Khan Museum’s Listening to Art, Seeing Music as unambitious would do a disservice to the difference between a building hung with paintings and the three-year-old Toronto museum’s mission to showcase the enduring art, culture and faith of Muslim peoples around the world.
A traditional art museum is about objects. At the Aga Khan, beliefs and ideals are as important as any artifact on display.
“As an institution, we deal not just with tangible culture but also with intangible culture,” says Listening to Art, Seeing Music curator Amirali Alibhai, who is also the museum’s head of performing arts. For him, music is the ultimate intangible
More...
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/m ... lture.html
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHkPmmED-M
Straight from the Central Asian Steppe and handmade from felt and wood, the yurt is one of 10 immersive and interactive experiences as part of the museum’s latest exhibition, Listening to Art, Seeing Music. The yurt will feature pop-up performances from guests around the world (Syria, Ukraine, Iran, Turkey) and offer a warm, communal gathering space where visitors can listen to live music, exchange stories and share a cup of tea.
******
Aga Khan Museum embraces music to express ‘intangible culture’
Adding soundscapes to its galleries along with depictions of sonic creations of Muslim peoples worldwide.
The Aga Khan Museum has joined a growing number of institutions that are enhancing their exhibits with sound.
Three summers ago, the National Gallery in London, England, enticed visitors with a show called Soundscapes, encouraging them to “Hear the painting. See the sound.” The critics’ response was mixed, with the Telegraph calling the show “painfully unambitious.” The Evening Standard suggested paintings should “be seen and not heard.”
To dismiss the Aga Khan Museum’s Listening to Art, Seeing Music as unambitious would do a disservice to the difference between a building hung with paintings and the three-year-old Toronto museum’s mission to showcase the enduring art, culture and faith of Muslim peoples around the world.
A traditional art museum is about objects. At the Aga Khan, beliefs and ideals are as important as any artifact on display.
“As an institution, we deal not just with tangible culture but also with intangible culture,” says Listening to Art, Seeing Music curator Amirali Alibhai, who is also the museum’s head of performing arts. For him, music is the ultimate intangible
More...
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/m ... lture.html
Real Weddings: Inside a glam, multicultural celebration at the Aga Khan Museum
Excerprt:
They initially wanted to elope, but ultimately decided to let their families take part in the celebrations. “We thought, if we’re going to do a wedding, we better do it damn well,” says Leigh. They hunted for a downtown venue in Toronto, but most seemed overpriced. Leigh’s sister suggested the Aga Khan Museum, and when they went to visit, they were instantly sold. They loved that the space was able to accommodate a Jewish ceremony as well as a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, and that the museum’s Middle Eastern roots added another cultural layer to the festivities. “Our friends joked that the wedding was the epitome of multiculturalism,” says Leigh.
More...
https://torontolife.com/city/life/real- ... an-museum/
Excerprt:
They initially wanted to elope, but ultimately decided to let their families take part in the celebrations. “We thought, if we’re going to do a wedding, we better do it damn well,” says Leigh. They hunted for a downtown venue in Toronto, but most seemed overpriced. Leigh’s sister suggested the Aga Khan Museum, and when they went to visit, they were instantly sold. They loved that the space was able to accommodate a Jewish ceremony as well as a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, and that the museum’s Middle Eastern roots added another cultural layer to the festivities. “Our friends joked that the wedding was the epitome of multiculturalism,” says Leigh.
More...
https://torontolife.com/city/life/real- ... an-museum/
Amyn Aga Khan to open the "World of the Fatimids" Exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum on 12th of March 2018. The Fatimids were the ancestors of the Aga Khans, they reigned over a large part of the Middle East from the Maghreb to Bagdad and founded Cairo. The Imams of Ismailis founded a truly pluralist Empire!
This event is not open to the public. It is by invitation only.
This event is not open to the public. It is by invitation only.
Last edited by Admin on Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
Lecture; Singing as One: A Pathway to Pluralism
Thursday, February 8, 1–2 pm
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... -pluralism
*****
Family Program
Family Day 2018
Monday, February 19, 10 am–6 pm
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... y-day-2018
Thursday, February 8, 1–2 pm
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... -pluralism
*****
Family Program
Family Day 2018
Monday, February 19, 10 am–6 pm
https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/learn/eve ... y-day-2018
The World of the Fatimids goes on display in Toronto
A collection of Fatimid artefacts arrived safely in Canada for a temporary exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum
A collection of Fatimid artefacts from Cairo arrived in Toronto on Tuesday for inclusion in a temporary exhibition at the city's Aga Khan Museum.
The exhibition, titled The World of the Fatimids, will run from 10 March to 2 July, providing North America with its first display of carefully selected Fatimid artworks, according to the museum.
Elham Salah, head of the museums sector at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the museum has received eight wooden boxes containing a collection of 37 artefacts for the show.
More...
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... Toron.aspx
A collection of Fatimid artefacts arrived safely in Canada for a temporary exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum
A collection of Fatimid artefacts from Cairo arrived in Toronto on Tuesday for inclusion in a temporary exhibition at the city's Aga Khan Museum.
The exhibition, titled The World of the Fatimids, will run from 10 March to 2 July, providing North America with its first display of carefully selected Fatimid artworks, according to the museum.
Elham Salah, head of the museums sector at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the museum has received eight wooden boxes containing a collection of 37 artefacts for the show.
More...
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... Toron.aspx
THE WORLD OF THE FATIMIDS
An ancient Islamic dynasty comes to the Aga Khan Museum.
Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum, North America’s only museum solely dedicated to showcasing Islamic art and culture, debuts an exhibit this spring particularly close to the institution’s namesake. The World of the Fatimids, which opens March 10, showcases the art created by an Islamic dynasty which arose in the ninth century, to which his Highness the Aga Khan traces his lineage back.
The foremost Islamic power of their time, the Fatimids maintained complex political and economic networks across Africa, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Iraq, Iran, and India, all the way to China. Their art, explains Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, the museum’s director of collections and public programs, reflects the breadth and diversity of their networks, and their far-reaching religious tolerance may be observed in their aesthetic incorporation of traditional Jewish and Christian crafts.
http://nuvomagazine.com/art/the-world-of-the-fatimids
An ancient Islamic dynasty comes to the Aga Khan Museum.
Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum, North America’s only museum solely dedicated to showcasing Islamic art and culture, debuts an exhibit this spring particularly close to the institution’s namesake. The World of the Fatimids, which opens March 10, showcases the art created by an Islamic dynasty which arose in the ninth century, to which his Highness the Aga Khan traces his lineage back.
The foremost Islamic power of their time, the Fatimids maintained complex political and economic networks across Africa, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Iraq, Iran, and India, all the way to China. Their art, explains Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, the museum’s director of collections and public programs, reflects the breadth and diversity of their networks, and their far-reaching religious tolerance may be observed in their aesthetic incorporation of traditional Jewish and Christian crafts.
http://nuvomagazine.com/art/the-world-of-the-fatimids
Pritzker Architecture Prize Ceremony to be held at the Aga Khan Museum Toronto – Goes to Low-Cost Housing Pioneer From India
Considered a pioneer of low-cost housing, Mr. Doshi, 90, is thrilled to have been awarded the 2018 Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor, which was announced on Wednesday. He is the first laureate from India, and worked with the 20th-century masters Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.“It is a very wonderful thing that happened,” he said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Ahmedabad, a city that was once the center of the nonviolent struggle for Indian independence. The award will be bestowed on Mr. Doshi, the 45th laureate, at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto in May.
wordpress.com/2018/03/08/pritzker-architecture-prize-ceremony-to-be-held-at-the-aga-khan-museum-toronto-goes-to-low-cost-housing-pioneer-from-india/
Considered a pioneer of low-cost housing, Mr. Doshi, 90, is thrilled to have been awarded the 2018 Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor, which was announced on Wednesday. He is the first laureate from India, and worked with the 20th-century masters Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.“It is a very wonderful thing that happened,” he said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Ahmedabad, a city that was once the center of the nonviolent struggle for Indian independence. The award will be bestowed on Mr. Doshi, the 45th laureate, at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto in May.
wordpress.com/2018/03/08/pritzker-architecture-prize-ceremony-to-be-held-at-the-aga-khan-museum-toronto-goes-to-low-cost-housing-pioneer-from-india/
Aga Khan Museum explores lost world of the Fatimids
This caliphate founded Cairo and ruled Egypt for 200 years, then vanished. A new show at the Aga Khan Museum looks to unearth a hidden history.
Three towering marble slabs loom over a broad gallery space in the Aga Khan Museum, their rough hides heavy with the weight of downfall. There is urgency etched into the stone: Made to adorn the royal palace of the Fatimids in ancient Cairo, their fluid forms — a fish, deer, foliage, peacocks — are rough and unfinished, their work abruptly cut short. When they were found centuries later, buried in the desert face down — a clear sign of contempt — they were one of few things that remained.
The panels date to the late 12th century, right around the time that Saladin’s army marched through the city gates and laid waste to all that the Fatimids had done. It was an erasure so complete that the Fatimids’ 200-year rule exists only in fragments and whispers.
“The big problem with the Fatimid period is that we have a minimal proportion — perhaps one per cent — of what once existed,” said Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, the London-based curator who brought the objects here. “It was systematically destroyed when (Saladin) conquered Cairo in 1169. The evidence of destruction is overwhelming — much of the material was smashed to smithereens. There was prodigious hostility towards the Fatimids by the Sunni conquerors, which means there are all kinds of questions we’ll never be able to answer.”
If Melikian-Chirvani liked a challenge, he certainly found one as tried to put meat on scant old bones. Cobbling objects from such far-ranging sources as the Louvre in Paris, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, New York’s Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, which holds the bulk of the dynasty’s slim remains, he stitched together The World of the Fatimids, a patchwork quilt of esthetic remnants that, for the first time, tries to divine a fuller picture of a society interrupted. It opens Saturday.
The marble slabs are alone here for their monumentality. The lion’s share of objects are tiny, delicate, quotidian — the kinds of things that slip past a hostile interloper looking to erase all evidence of his forebears. A small bronze mortar here, inscribed with the regal symbol of a lion, is one of only 50 such objects to be unearthed from Fatimid Egypt. Across the Islamic world, Melikian-Chirvani says, such objects number in the many thousands.
Such rare things help to sketch a unique moment in a mythic city’s hodgepodge visual evolution. The Fatimids — Ismaili Muslims who came to Egypt from North Africa around 909 AD — arrived to find a small city on the Nile. Surveying the terrain, they chose to build their own a few hundred metres afield. By 969, their bustling settlement had evolved into a city in its own right, which they named Cairo — a Fatimid city from the beginning.
From what he’s been able to gather, Melikian-Chirvani sees an esthetic distinct from both neighbouring Islamic hubs in Syria and Persia. Among the Fatimids, art made for the royal family had a playful cheekiness, eschewing heroic idolatry for a more mischievous air. He steers toward a series of earthenware bowls, painted in gold to depict hunting scenes. In one, a royal sits astride a horse, an eyebrow dubiously raised; in another, cartoonish lions and hares — symbols of the royal hunting field — parade in an almost camp-seeming procession.
“You see a sense of derision coming out,” Melikian-Chirvani said. “Theses are artists having a ball making these, laughing their heads off. There’s a fun, an exuberance coming out. That couldn’t have been done subversively. All that implies a tolerance among those in office, and the fun breaks out everywhere.”
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/v ... imids.html
This caliphate founded Cairo and ruled Egypt for 200 years, then vanished. A new show at the Aga Khan Museum looks to unearth a hidden history.
Three towering marble slabs loom over a broad gallery space in the Aga Khan Museum, their rough hides heavy with the weight of downfall. There is urgency etched into the stone: Made to adorn the royal palace of the Fatimids in ancient Cairo, their fluid forms — a fish, deer, foliage, peacocks — are rough and unfinished, their work abruptly cut short. When they were found centuries later, buried in the desert face down — a clear sign of contempt — they were one of few things that remained.
The panels date to the late 12th century, right around the time that Saladin’s army marched through the city gates and laid waste to all that the Fatimids had done. It was an erasure so complete that the Fatimids’ 200-year rule exists only in fragments and whispers.
“The big problem with the Fatimid period is that we have a minimal proportion — perhaps one per cent — of what once existed,” said Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, the London-based curator who brought the objects here. “It was systematically destroyed when (Saladin) conquered Cairo in 1169. The evidence of destruction is overwhelming — much of the material was smashed to smithereens. There was prodigious hostility towards the Fatimids by the Sunni conquerors, which means there are all kinds of questions we’ll never be able to answer.”
If Melikian-Chirvani liked a challenge, he certainly found one as tried to put meat on scant old bones. Cobbling objects from such far-ranging sources as the Louvre in Paris, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, New York’s Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, which holds the bulk of the dynasty’s slim remains, he stitched together The World of the Fatimids, a patchwork quilt of esthetic remnants that, for the first time, tries to divine a fuller picture of a society interrupted. It opens Saturday.
The marble slabs are alone here for their monumentality. The lion’s share of objects are tiny, delicate, quotidian — the kinds of things that slip past a hostile interloper looking to erase all evidence of his forebears. A small bronze mortar here, inscribed with the regal symbol of a lion, is one of only 50 such objects to be unearthed from Fatimid Egypt. Across the Islamic world, Melikian-Chirvani says, such objects number in the many thousands.
Such rare things help to sketch a unique moment in a mythic city’s hodgepodge visual evolution. The Fatimids — Ismaili Muslims who came to Egypt from North Africa around 909 AD — arrived to find a small city on the Nile. Surveying the terrain, they chose to build their own a few hundred metres afield. By 969, their bustling settlement had evolved into a city in its own right, which they named Cairo — a Fatimid city from the beginning.
From what he’s been able to gather, Melikian-Chirvani sees an esthetic distinct from both neighbouring Islamic hubs in Syria and Persia. Among the Fatimids, art made for the royal family had a playful cheekiness, eschewing heroic idolatry for a more mischievous air. He steers toward a series of earthenware bowls, painted in gold to depict hunting scenes. In one, a royal sits astride a horse, an eyebrow dubiously raised; in another, cartoonish lions and hares — symbols of the royal hunting field — parade in an almost camp-seeming procession.
“You see a sense of derision coming out,” Melikian-Chirvani said. “Theses are artists having a ball making these, laughing their heads off. There’s a fun, an exuberance coming out. That couldn’t have been done subversively. All that implies a tolerance among those in office, and the fun breaks out everywhere.”
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/v ... imids.html