Inspiring Muslim Women Artists

Inspirations from the Past

NASREEN MOHAMEDI (1937-1990). Baroda, Gujarat. Minimalist Abstract. Considered one of the major figures of the art of the twentieth century. Click side arrow for profile and art details.

One of the most significant artists to emerge in post-Independence India, Nasreen Mohamedi (1937–1990) created a body of work that demonstrates a singular and sustained engagement with abstraction. Her minimalist practice not only adds a rich layer to the history of South Asian art but also necessitates an expansion of the narratives of international modernism.
Mohamedi mainly worked with gestures of pencil and ink on paper, experimenting with organic forms, delicate grids, and dynamic, hard-edged lines. Her cosmopolitan outlook enabled her to draw upon a range of aesthetic sensibilities, from the poetry of Rilke and Camus, as well as Indian classical music, to the modernist architecture of Le Corbusier's Chandigarh. Spanning Mohamedi's entire career and bringing together more than 130 paintings, drawings, photographs, and rarely seen diaries, the MET exhibition traces the conceptual complexity and visual subtlety of the artist's oeuvre.
From 1954 to 1957 Nasreen studied at the Central Saint Martin’s School of Art in London before receiving a scholarship to study in Paris from 1961 to 1963. Her first works, dating from the end of the 1950s through the 1960s, were colourful, monumental and inspired by nature. At this time, she began mixing oil with ink, playing with tonalities in a free and spontaneous movement that recalls Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. Her energetic works represent landscapes, at times depicting the deserts that she held dear. After finishing her studies, she moved to India, where she taught at the M. S. University of Baroda (today Vadodara) starting in 1971. This period marked a break in her practice, during which she abandoned any trace of figuration. She concentrated on space and line in her black and white ink and pencil compositions.
References/Sourceshttps://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/nasreen-mohamedi/https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/nasreen-mohamedihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasreen_Mohamedi

ZARINA HASHMI (1937-2020). Artist Printmaker. New York/Delhi. Click side arrow for profile, links and art details.

Zarina, the mononymous artist whose uncategorizable five-decade practice unsettles ideas of home, memory, and unsettledness itself, has died at age eighty-three. Best known as a printmaker, the Indian-born artist’s spare and often language-based imagery draws from Minimalism, Zen Buddhism, and Sufism, as well as the historical ruptures and migrations that shaped her own peripatetic life.
Although wider recognition arrived late in Zarina’s life, she became one of the most celebrated South Asian artists of the past century and was among the first artists to represent India in the Venice Biennale, for its fifty-fourth edition in 2011. A survey of the artist’s output, “Zarina: Atlas of Her World,” opened at the Pulitzer Art Foundation in Saint Louis in September 2019 and closed this February.
Although she primarily made woodblock, lithographic, intaglio, and silk-screen prints, Zarina also crafted papier-mâché, metal, wood, and terra-cotta sculptures. Her art—which resides in the collections of numerous institutions worldwide and was the subject of a retrospective, her first, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in 2012—revels in a multitude of references, from the American Minimalism of Carl Andre and Sol LeWitt to Urdu poetry and her own biography. “I think we are witnesses to the times we are living in,” she told an interviewer when recently asked about the role of the artist in society.
Describing Home Is a Foreign Place, 1999, a major portfolio of thirty-six geometric woodcuts, she called it “my narrative of the house I was born in and left in my early twenties never to return.” The archetypical house form, as well as thick lines suggesting geographic boundaries and psychic fault lines, is a recurring motif in her oeuvre. “I work in small scale,” the artist told writer Lisa Liebmann in 1984. “I know the work has density of emotion and it will create its own space around it.”
Born in 1937 into an erudite Muslim family in Aligarh, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Zarina earned her university degree in mathematics, a field that, along with architecture, strongly informs her artmaking.
References/Sourceshttps://www.zarina.work/https://www.zarina.work/memories-of-zarina

Contemporary Muslim Women Artists across Indian States

Delhi

SABA HASAN. Contemporary multi-media artist. Delhi/Goa/New York. Click side arrow for profile and art details.

Saba Hasan is a noted contemporary artist with a multimedia repertoire developed over two decades of highly distinguished practice. Layered with undertones her voice reveals the forces of time, nature, social reality and personal histories in a potent, nuanced voice.
Saba's works have been exhibited at major venues like the 55th International Venice Biennale, the Met Breuer Museum New York, the National Gallery of Art Colombo, Fortezza Da Basso Florence, the Hohenburg Castle Salzburg, Assab One Milan, the Chelsea Film Festival New York, the Devi Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
She is a recipient of fellowships from Syracuse University, New York 1985; the George Keyt Art Foundation, 2002; the French Cultural Ministry, Paris 2006; the Oscar Kokoschka Academy, 2010 and the Raza National Award for painting 2005.
Saba has been a keen art educator conducting independent workshops and community art projects for Ecole D'Arts Visuels Lausanne, the Jamia University, Art 1st and Art Reach.
References/Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saba_Hasanhttps://www.sabahasan.com/

QAMAR DAGAR. Calligrapher, Artist. Click side arrow for profile details and art.

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SEHER HASHMI. Self taught artist. Delhi. Solo exhibition "Coloring The Wounds Away". Click side arrow for profile details and art.

Seher Hashmi is a fashion stylist by profession. She is also a painter and writes poetry, despite not have any formal training in art. With determination to fight depression, assisted by psychiatrists, counsellors and her family, painting became a serious engagement for her. She has been dealing with mental health issues for over 8 years and having overcome major part of the problem she has started speaking about the ailment to remove the taboo around mental illness. She regularly does Facebook lives related to mental illness and has also started a support group for young people.
Seher is a fashion stylist and a self-taught artist. Painting has helped her overcome depression. Her solo painting exhibition ‘Colouring The Wounds Away’ reflects simple, soothing play of colours.
References/Sources
https://shespeaksworldywca.org/author/seher-hashmi/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/flick-past/seher-hashmi-razas-solo-exhibition-with-simplified-formshttps://twocircles.net/2019jul18/432073.html

Madhya Pradesh

BAARAN IJLAL, Delhi-based visual artist. She works with paint, video, sound and installation. Click side arrow for profile details.

Baaraan Ijlal, is a Delhi-based visual artist. She works with paint, video, sound and installation. She is self-taught, draws inspiration from history, peoples’ movements and poetry. She has been interested in exploring anonymity in her practice as essential to individual liberty. She seeks to enable listening and creating witnesses to unacknowledged stories. She creates work through direct interaction with individuals and communities. Her themes include evolution, migration, body, memory and alienation. She paints and creates installations of sound, video, light and embroidery.
Her sound installation Change Room, is an ongoing project to enable radical listening of unacknowledged stories, told anonymously towards possible change. Those who have recorded their stories with the artist present as a witness include nomads, people turned out of homes and neighbourhoods because of their sexual orientation, victims of caste and communal violence and war refugees to name a few. This project now includes a growing archive of over 1000 testimonies.
Baaran completed her Master of Arts in English Literature (1999) from Saifia College, Bhopal. Her medium includes acrylic paint, sound, video, light, and resin installations among others.
Ms. Ijlal's exhibition History is vast. These include, (2020): Seeds are being sown at Prameya Art Foundation, New Delhi, India. Curated by Shaunak Mahbubani. India Art Fair, New Delhi. (2019) Change Room, (audio installation) at Chintretsukan Gallery, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo,Japan. Curated by SGFA Tokyo. Change Room, (audio installation) at CREAR econference, Kathmandu, Nepal. Curated by CREA Team. Change Room, (audio installation) at India Art Fair, New Delhi, India. Curated by Prameya Art Foundation. (2018) Installation of Change Room at Bhopal Literature and Arts Festival, Bhopal, India. Curated by Meera Dass. Installation of Coal Couture at World Health Organization (WHO)’s First Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health at the WHO headquarters during the UNFCCC’s 24th Conference of Parties. Installation of Change Room at TENT Arts Space, Kolkara, India. Curated by Divakar Venkatraman. Installation of Change Room at Conflictorium Museum of Conflict, Ahmedabad, India. Curated by Divakar Venkatraman through an Artist Residency. (2017) Installation of Bird Box at Oddbird, New Delhi, India. Commissioned by Sadbhawna Trust and American Jewish World Service (AJWS). (2016) Installation of Silent Minarets Whispering Winds at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s Terminal 2, Mumbai, India. Curated by Rajiv Sethi. (2014) Installation of House of Commons at Alliance Francaise, New Delhi, India. Curated by Sanskriti Foundation through an Artist Residency. Exhibition of two canvasses each from Trouble with Red Is and Baghdad Café series At Women, Art & Resistance show, American Centre, New Delhi, India. Curated by Georgina Maddox. (2013) Exhibition of two canvasses from Trouble with Red Is series At Sri Multiple Feminisms show, Gallery Beyond Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, India. Curated by Myna Mukherjee. Exhibition of two canvasses from Trouble with Red Is series At Sri Multiple Feminisms show, American Centre, New Delhi, India. Curated by Myna Mukherjee. (2012) Exhibition of three paintings titled Queering Making I At Gallery Engendered Space, New Delhi, India. – Curated by Billy Stewart, Jose Abadi and Myna Mukherjee. Exhibition of three paintings titled Queering Making II At Gallery Abadi Art & Creative Communication, New Delhi, India. – Curated by Billy Stewart, Jose Abadi and Myna Mukherjee. (2010) Exhibition of paintings and installations from House of Commons, To Be Continued and Stitched Wings series At Retellings show, Gallery Seven Art Limited, New Delhi, India. – Curated by Deeksha Nath.
References & Sourceshttps://www.shrineempiregallery.com/artist/baaraan-ijlal/http://khojworkshop.org/participant/baaraan-ijlal/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/lush-chrysanthemum-and-the-nailed-tongue/article19645203.ecehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fTQg_Im_rQ

West Bengal

SUFIA KHATOOM . Visual artist, Kolkata, West Bengal. Click side arrow for profile details and art.

Sufia Khatoon is a visual artist from Kolkata, West Bengal. Her work transcends physical location with the universal emotion it emits. Sufia’s works are inspired from anxiety, loneliness, sadness and stress that every human being has had their fair share of. In that way, her work contains a message that all of us can understand – a chaotic and yet calm, flowing display of feeling and truth.
Her work featured at the link ( https://madswirl.com/gallery/khatoon_sufia/) shows figures that seem to be in the throes of such feeling with eyes closed or otherwise somber expressions painted on their faces. In the beautiful way that art manages to say so much in saying so little.
Receiver of The Kavi Salam Award 2018, Sufia Khatoon is a also a multi-lingual performance poet, artist, literary translator and facilitator. She is the Co-Founder of Rhythm Divine Poets Community Kolkata and the Editor of EKL Review. She has authored “Death in the Holy Month” shortlisted for Yuva Puraskar by Sahitya Akademi 2020 and Ger-mi-na-tion from The Red River publication.
She has worked on a poetry installation called 300 Peace Poetry Prayer Flag installation which has been widely appreciated; she aims to collect more poems from poets from all over the world and build the installation throughout her life.
References / Sources:https://madswirl.com/gallery/khatoon_sufia/

NAFISA YAESMIN. Click side arrow for profile details and art.

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Uttar Pradesh

FARZANA SHAHAB. Click side arrow for profile details and art.

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SABIHA HASAN SUMBUL. Click side arrow for profile details and art.


SAHAR ZAMAN. Chamak Patti artist and art journalist. Click side arrow for profile details and art.


Kerala

JAMILA MAMMI HAJI. Self-taught artist & Business woman. Tirur, Kerala. Click side arrow for profile details.


Maharashtra

FARAH SIDDIQUI is a contemporary art consultant and a prominent figure in the Indian art world. She founded the FSCA art advisory that has managed significant collections of Indian Art globally. Click side arrow for profile details.

Farah Siddiqui is a contemporary art consultant and a prominent figure in the Indian art world. She founded the FSCA art advisory that has managed significant collections of Indian Art globally. A specialist in contemporary art from Southeast Asia, FSCA offers an across-the-board consultancy service for private collections, foundations and Museums since 2004.
In addition to working with private collectors, she has worked on special projects with Forbes, India and The Times is India. Siddiqui has consulted both international and domestic art and design foundations - the BE OPEN Foundation In 2014, a global think tank initiative as well as the Piramal Foundation ( 2015-2016)in Mumbai, where she curated a definitive exhibition on the legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma in 2016.
Siddiqui has organised special India visits for the curators, director and patrons of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and Vancouver Art Gallery ( Museum). Under the patronage of Elephant Family's joint Royal President's TRH’s The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles and lady Camilla Parker Bowles, Farah Siddiqui curated the first edition of Elephant Parade for India - traveling across the county in 2017- 2018, it is the largest public art project in India till date. Siddiqui now serves on the board of Elephant Family Foundation India.
Siddiqui is a regular contributor to art columns in several newspapers, travel and banking publications and is a leading voice in the South Asian Art market discourse. She is often invited by prestigious education intuitions to conduct seminars including IIT – Mumbai and SIMC – Pune . In 2019 , Farah served the Chamar Foundation , an Initiative that has been established to promote both artists and artisans, and is focused on rehabilitating and empowering the community, recognizing their skill and expertise. She conceptualised a projected for the foundation titled : The reclaimed Tote.
During the recent global pandemic, of 2020 she established Life With Objects project in collaboration with renowned international creatives. The project is an exploration through a collection of objects that bring value, thereby infusing meaning into the muted mutterings of life. An unconventional ' exhibition’ that allows us to stay open while staying at home – open to our communities, new ideas and experiences despite our physical limitations.
Farah is using her position in the art world to help drive emerging artists with the resources that FSCA provides. FSCA launched Cultivate Art Global in 2018 - a program dedicated to building a roster of young and emerging artists and connect them with the next generation of collectors both at home and abroad.