Written by Zemina Meghji, founder of un.seen.futures, this article emerges out of Zemina’s research into her cultural roots, and Islamic artistic intelligence.
Islamic Art
Many people consume art in formal settings. We go to specific places like galleries or museums to view, experience and observe all types of different arts. While it can be an exciting experience to make art into an event, the physical act of having to travel or move elsewhere, beyond our homes, our local streets, our places of work, to experience art creates a hard demarcation between our lives and art, creating not just physical boundaries between us and art but significantly limits what is considered art and the role art can play in our daily lives.
In Islamic civilization, art is everywhere. Islamic art is understood as art and architecture historically produced in lands ruled by Muslims (Department of Islamic Art, 2000) though artists of Islamic art are not exclusively Muslims. Islamic art is often translated into, but not limited to, the built environment through architecture, written word through calligraphy, thorough melodic recitation of the Q’uran known as maqām, tile and ceramics and/or through ornamentation of religious texts. The art’s striking displays of geometric patterns pulled together through the principles of beauty such as balance, harmony and proportion are featured in places and spaces people frequent – it is not separate but rather has been weaved into daily life. Not only does the art provide aesthetic value, it has tangible function. Through its various applications, Islamic art has served as a platform for cross-cultural dialogue, contributed to wellbeing and conveys Islamic metaphysics, transforming art as not something to simply look at, but rather to learn from, heal from and find higher order Truths.
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