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Community art exhibition in Canberra showcases new local talent
The Encompass exhibition at the Canberra Islamic Centre presents the debut of many new artists
Over the weekend of 11–12th February, the Canberra Islamic Centre held a free exhibition entitled Encompass, bringing together artists from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Participating artists included Fatima Killeen, Aneeta Bano, Maryam Hassan, Suheir Zeidan, Tahmina Ali, Tehmina Rahman, Farah Jabran Rao and Rabia Danish. This was the debut exhibition for many of the artists, whose work ranged from aboriginal-inspired to acrylic landscape to the more traditionally Islamic.
As a professional artist, the work of Moroccan-born Fatima Killeen stood out from the rest, with repeating geometric patterns on a background of earthy tones. A particular favourite was her print El kanghar, Uluru at Dusk pictured above in which anthropomorphic Arabic calligraphy in the shape of a kangaroo sits atop a zellige-style pattern in red ochre reminiscent of the Australian outback.
As debutants to the art scene, the other artists presented works which were much less refined, but I highly commend the bravery needed to step up and exhibit work. In order to grow the arts amongst the Muslim community, events like this need to be supported and creatives need to be supported to push their boundaries and grow. I hope there will be many more opportunities such as this one in the future so that I can see these artists flourish.
