Call to Artists

The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) is seeking female artists living and working in the United States of the Muslim faith to create work that visually represents their own perspectives and relationships to their faith.

The exhibition Islam from a Woman’s Perspective will be on view at MoCADA from May 28 – September 13, 2009.

Illuminating Islam Conference & Festival

No more pressing issue faces the world today than the profound lack of understanding between Western and Islamic societies. Even as Islam has become the world’s second largest religion, with an estimated 1 billion-plus members – approximately 600,000 of whom live in New York City – non-Muslim Americans have had limited exposure to the faith, associating it with the acts of an extremist fringe rather than the deeply humanistic culture that gave birth to algebra and the poetry of Rumi. Concurrently, events such as the U.S. presence in Iraq, Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, and negative papal pronouncements have created significant anger toward the West in the Islamic world. Increasingly, immigrant Muslim communities within the West have become marginalized in their adopted countries, while Muslims and non-Muslims across the world increasingly view each other with mistrust. In addition, intra-Islamically, there is a need for Muslim communities to deepen knowledge and exposure to each others’ cultures to develop to further bind them together.

Recognizing the urgency of this situation and the unique power of cultural exchange to create new perspectives and connections between peoples locally and globally, the Asia Society, Brooklyn Academy of Music and New York University’s Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West (Dialogues) have partnered to launch Illuminating Islam: Cultural Journeys, an integrated cultural and intellectual platform that is unprecedented in its scale. The initiative will celebrate Islamic world’s diversity and richness through multidisciplinary programs. Additional partners include: Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum, MoCADA, Sundance Film Institute, Tribeca Film Festival and key community organizations.

The festival and academic conference will showcase the unity and diversity of Muslim cultures with presentations by more than 100 artists, performers, and scholars from regions of the modern Islamic world – Middle East, Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, Central Asia, and the Balkans. The organizing partners recognize the importance of contextualizing the programs with thoughtful supplementary materials through commissioned essays and other background materials to accompany presentations.

EXHIBITION THEME

In coordination with the Illuminating Islam: Cultural Journey, MoCADA is creating an exhibition based on an understanding of the Islamic faith in a contemporary context. Islam is often critiqued for its subjugation of women throughout the world. Female artists will have the opportunity to contribute to the conversation by creating work that discusses their own relationship/perspective about their faith. Artists may focus on the relationship in all of its forms (i.e. - the visual presentation of the relationship is more important than the what the relationship actually is). Given the enormity of cultures and ethnic groups following the Muslim faith, the exhibition will focus on U.S. based artists. Artists may be of any particular culture, but live and work in the U.S., must be of the Muslim faith and submit work based on their relationship with Islam.

Three to five artists will be selected from the received submissions to participate in the exhibition. There is no limitation on the type of medium and we encourage emerging artists to submit, especially those that have little to no exhibition experience.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Interested artists should submit the following:

· A portfolio of up to 5 images to be reviewed for acceptance into the exhibition. No files larger than 3MB please. CD’s are also acceptable.

· An Artist Statement or Artist bio, especially about the work(s) you are submitting and how they relate to the exhibition theme. Please also send a copy of your resume. Optional: Press clips, postcards, catalogues, etc.

If you are interested in participating, please submit to Kimberli E. Gant by August 4, 2008.

There are no restrictions on the type of medium.

Contact: kg@mocada.org or 718-230-0492

80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, New York 11217

In addition to participating in the exhibition, you must take part in an artist talk/panel discussion focused on the exhibition, tentatively scheduled for June 9 or 10^th. Each artist receive an artist honorarium of $2,000 for materials, plus $500 for travel expenses to attend the Opening Reception and Artist Talk.

HISTORY of MoCADA

MoCADA was founded in 1999 by Laurie Cumbo within the heart of the Bedford Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn and was housed in a building graciously provided by Bridge Street AWME Church. Today, MoCADA is Brooklyn, New York’s first and only museum committed to fostering a greater awareness of the art and culture of the African Diaspora as it relates to contemporary urban issues through innovative exhibitions, public programs and interactive tours.

In May 2008 MoCADA celebrated its 2^nd Anniversary at its new location in the James E. Davis 80 Arts Building located within the BAM Local Development Corporation (LDC) Cultural District. BAM LDC's drive to create a vibrant, mixed-use cultural arts district in Downtown Brooklyn offers an ideal opportunity for MoCADA to advance its mission to make Brooklyn a premier multicultural arts destination.

“Illuminating Islam” Artist Submissions

Name__________________________________________________

Age_________ Gender_________

Telephone_________________ Email Address__________________

Home or Studio Address____________________________________

My Entries

Type(s) of work I am submitting (check all that apply)

□Painting □Photography □Mixed-Media □Digital

□Installation □Drawing □Film/Video □Sculpture

□Printmaking □Other: __________________________________

About My Submissions

Entry 1:

______________________________________________________________________

Title

______________________________________________________________________

Description Year

______________________________________________________________________

Dimensions and Weight

______________________________________________________________________

This entry is submitted via: □slide □CD/DVD □Digital Image

Entry 2:

______________________________________________________________________

Title

______________________________________________________________________

Description Year

______________________________________________________________________

Dimensions and Weight

______________________________________________________________________

This entry is submitted via: □slide □CD/DVD □Digital Image

Entry 3:

______________________________________________________________________

Title

______________________________________________________________________

Description Year

______________________________________________________________________

Dimensions and Weight

______________________________________________________________________

This entry is submitted via: □slide □CD/DVD □Digital Image

Entry 4:

______________________________________________________________________

Title

______________________________________________________________________

Description Year

______________________________________________________________________

Dimensions and Weight

______________________________________________________________________

This entry is submitted via: □slide □CD/DVD □Digital Image

Entry 5:

______________________________________________________________________

Title

______________________________________________________________________

Description Year

______________________________________________________________________

Dimensions and Weight

______________________________________________________________________

This entry is submitted via: □slide □CD/DVD □Digital Image