Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond

Tayeba Begum Lipi (Bangladesh, b. 1969), Not For Me, 2018. Stainless steel razor blades, 16 x 22 x 9 cm (each shoe). Collection of Royal Ontario Museum. This acquisition was made possible with the generous support of the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust, Peer Review Fund. Photo: ROM

Being and Belonging

July 1 – November 19, 2023
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto

Being and Belonging is a bold exhibition exploring the defining issues of our time from the perspective of 25 women artists from or connected to the broader Islamic world spanning across West Africa to Southeast Asia or living in diaspora. Deftly interrogating themes of identity, power, sexuality, and home, this ROM-original exhibition resists simple stereotypes with outstanding artworks from both emerging and well-established artists.

Content Advisory: This exhibition features artworks covering topics as varied as violence, war, persecution, survival, innovation, and joy. A few artworks contain nudity.

Exhibition at a Glance

• Presents over 100 captivating works of contemporary art in a wide range of artistic media, including paintings, graffiti art, photography, ceramics, mosaics, 3D multimedia works, textiles, animation, and video installations
• Examines critical issues of our time through themes of space, movement, and power
• ROM-original exhibition co-curated by Dr. Fahmida Suleman, Islamic World Curator, and Dr. Silvia Forni, ROM’s former Curator of Global Africa and newly-appointed Director of UCLA’s Fowler Museum

CANAN (Turkey, b. 1970), El (Hand), Falname series #36, 2023. Ink, opaque watercolour, gold paint, and pencil on handmade paper, 24 x 16.5 cm. Collection of Royal Ontario Museum. This acquisition was made possible with the generous support of the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust, Peer Review Fund. Photo: ROM

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About ROM

Opened in 1914, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) showcases art, culture, and nature from around the world and across the ages. Today, ROM houses more than 13 million objects, from ancient Egypt to contemporary art, from meteorites to dinosaurs. ROM is the most visited museum in Canada and one of the top ten museums in North America. It is also the country’s preeminent field research institute, with a diverse range of experts who help us understand the past, make sense of the present, and shape a shared future. We live on in what we leave behind.

ROM acknowledges that this museum sits on the ancestral lands of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinaabek Nation, which includes the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, since time immemorial to today.

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