In light of our current exhibition – ‘Layers of Paradise’ featuring the installations and illustrations of young artist Romina Khanom – we’ll be hosting an informal panel discussion with a number of other young women with backgrounds in the art world. 

What is ‘Islamic Art’? Do we refer to it as such just because it has been made by Muslims? How do we push against these categorizations? Who is defining us? The discussion will focus particularly on the compromises Muslim women are forced to make in a space that seeks to pigenhole, homogenise and often tokenise them. 

Agency: the capacity of an agent (a person or other entity, human or any living being in general, or soul-consciousness in religion) to act in a world.

Compromise: the expedient acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable.

PANEL

Romina Khanom – Artist. Her work is currently being featured in the IHRC Gallery & Bookshop. ‘Layers of Paradise’ consists of work that is spiritual in both form and aesthetic. She considers Islam to be her tool, her source and her inspiration.

Lena Mohamed – Advocate at Islamic Human Rights Commission. She has an MA from the Royal College of Art and has co-curated exhibitions at Tate Britain.

Nasreen Raja – Artist. Her work has been showcased at the Mica Gallery and Southbank centre in London along side being part of group exhibitions in Vienna and Bratislava

Rose Nordin – the co founder and graphic designer for One of My Kind Zine (OOMK). She is an active member of the Alternative Press self-publishing collective and leads zine and comic events throughout the year.

Nasreen Shaikh Jamal al-Lail (CHAIR) – Curator of ‘Layers of Paradise’ and an artist with work exhibited in both England and Saudi Arabia. Her focus has been on developing an understanding of how an interaction between different ‘collective memories’ has created a unique set of problems about who one is and what one can become.

WHEN: Thursday, 27 November at 6.45pm

WHERE: IHRC Gallery & Bookshop, 202 Preston Road, Wembley, HA9 8PA, nearest tube Preston Road (1 minute walk, Metropolitan Line), South Kenton (12 minutes walk, Bakerloo line), nearest overgound South Kenton (as before).

The event will be broadcast live on IHRC.TV so make sure to tune in if you can’t be there in person. Tweet any questions or comments to @IHRC or post on our Facebook.