BRIC and Brooklyn Historical Society
Announce Fall Exhibition
Beyond Geographies: Contemporary Art and Muslim Experience

 

Above: Morehshin Allahyari, Aisha Qandisha, 2018 3D Printed resin. Courtesy of the artist and Upfor Gallery.

 

On View: September 13 – November 17, 2019
Opening Reception: September 12, 7PM

 

(BROOKLYN, JUNE 12, 2019) — BRIC and Brooklyn Historical Society are pleased to announce Beyond Geographies: Contemporary Art and Muslim Experience, an exhibition curated and organized by BRIC as part of Brooklyn Historical Society's Muslims in Brooklyn project. On view from September 13 - November 17, 2019 at BRIC House (647 Fulton St), the group exhibition will present the works of nine New York-based artists whose work explores the multiple dimensions of the contemporary Muslim experience. The exhibition features installations, photography, sculpture, video, painting, drawing, and performances by Morehshin Allahyari, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Mona Saeed Kamal, Baseera Khan, Nsenga Knight, Umber Majeed, Asif Mian, and Nooshin Rostami; and is presented in conjunction with Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s An Opening, a sound and art installation at Brooklyn Historical Society, drawn from the Muslims in Brooklyn oral histories collection. The group exhibition will be curated by BRIC’s Chief Curator, Elizabeth Ferrer.

All of Middle Eastern, South Asian, or African-American descent, the featured artists grapple with complex, hybrid identities. The exhibition draws upon areas of inquiry such as mythology, spiritual philosophy and ritual, science, and social and political history. The nine artists draw on their identities as members of diasporic communities, as immigrants, and as participants in the contemporary art discourse, to navigate and express identities that are fluid, layered, and engaged in a rigorous questioning of both tradition and contemporaneity. In their explorations these artists bring new frames of reference toward a broader and more nuanced understanding of a world whose boundaries are increasingly porous.

 

Above: Asif Mian, Refusing to Give Up the Ghost, 2019 Polyester fiber rugs, fabric, thread, tile, steel, and adhesive.

 

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with two essays: Sara Raza, a New York based independent curator and former Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Middle East and North Africa will discuss the art and artists in Beyond Geographies. Zaheer Ali, Oral Historian at Brooklyn Historical Society and Director of the Muslims in Brooklyn project, will provide an overview of the histories of Muslim communities in Brooklyn.

Public programs will include gallery talks and artist performances at BRIC House, and a panel discussion at Brooklyn Historical Society on September 26 moderated by Sara Raza with Baseera Khan, Asif Mian, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed.

 

ABOUT MUSLIMS IN BROOKLYN
Beyond Geographies is being presented as a component of Muslims in Brooklyn, a major public

art and history project of Brooklyn Historical Society. Through this exhibition, public programs, oral histories, educational curriculum, and other initiatives, Muslims in Brooklyn aims to preserve and amplify the histories and experiences of Muslims in Brooklyn.

Muslims in Brooklyn is made possible through the generous support of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges Program, the Ford Foundation; the New York Community Trust; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Nissan Foundation; Pillars Fund; Pop Culture Collaborative, a fiscally sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; and New York City Councilmembers Brad Lander, Robert E. Cornegy, and Rafael Espinal.

 

ABOUT BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Founded in 1863, Brooklyn Historical Society is a nationally recognized urban history center dedicated to preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn's extraordinary 400-year history. Located in Brooklyn Heights and housed in a magnificent landmark building designed by George Post and opened in 1881, today's Brooklyn Historical Society is a cultural hub for civic dialogue, thoughtful engagement and community outreach. In May 2017, BHS opened a second site in DUMBO’s Brooklyn Bridge Park. For additional information, visit www.brooklynhistory.org.

 

ABOUT BRIC
Currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, BRIC is a leading presenter of cultural programming in Brooklyn. BRIC presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year. Their main venue, BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn, offers a public media center, a major exhibition space and project room, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio, and artist work spaces. Some of BRIC’s acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival held each summer in Prospect Park, a renowned contemporary art exhibition series, and two distinct media initiatives: Brooklyn Free Speech, Brooklyn's public access initiative, and BRIC TV, a community TV channel and digital network. BRIC also offers arts and media education and other vital programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn. For additional information, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.

 

PRESS CONTACTS

Marcella Zimmermann
Vice President, Cultural Counsel marcella@culturalcounsel.com

Marcia Ely
Executive Vice President, Brooklyn Historical Society mely@brooklynhistory.org

Danellys Wong
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel dw@culturalcounsel.com