Museums Connect Project Spotlights Art and Identity of Muslim Women in Four Distinct Cultures
The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization in the United Arab Emirates, as the only Museum in the Middle East and Arab region, has been awarded the prestigious American Association of Museums’ Museums Connect grant to participate in a groundbreaking initiative which involves a thought-provoking community project with three other international museum organizations – the International Museum of Women in San Francisco, US, the Women’s Museum in Aarhus, Denmark and the Ayala Museum in the Philippines. The project is conceived, through a number of workshops and the production of online artworks that will be curated and on exhibition virtually, to raise public awareness of the richness and diversity of Muslim women’s lives in these four distinct cultures and globally. The Museums Connect Initiative, now in its fifth year, pairs museums from across the globe with partners in the United States to engender web-based opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and creative collaboration, particularly among the youth. It also fosters intercultural dialogue through community projects, partnerships with local or tribal governments and schools, and local events.
Museums Connect is a joint initiative of the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of Museums Connect is building global communities through partnership, collaboration and cross-cultural exchanges linking the respective museums with communities both abroad and locally. Muslim Women’s Art and Voices is one of 10 grants funded for this cycle.
Manal Ataya, the Director General of Sharjah Museums Department said: ‘Sharjah Museums Department is delighted and honoured to have received this prestigious grant together with our distinguished partners in the US, Denmark and the Philippines. This project promises to be an exciting and wonderful opportunity for all involved, and we sincerely hope that it will contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of the rich and diverse lives Muslim women lead around the world and the significant contributions they make in all walks of life.
“AAM is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on this vital program, and is equally proud that these four esteemed institutions are a part of it,” said AAM president Ford W. Bell. “Museums, like all aspects of society today, are becoming more international in their focus while also retaining their mission of service to their local community. Museums Connect builds global communities, spanning time zones, continents and cultures.”
In its five years, Museums Connect has boasted institutions and communities in many Muslim nations among its participants. These countries include Afghanistan, Morocco, Jordan and Tajikistan, among others. For more information on all the Museums Connect projects, past and present, visit www.aam-us.org/museumsconnect.
“Through Museums Connect, the State Department and our partners strive to lead the way in building international partnerships and fostering mutual understanding through international collaborations,” said Ann Stock, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “All of us have an abiding interest in creating new avenues for education, communication and understanding, and Muslim Women’s Art and Voices is a perfect example of how we’re doing that.”
View News Headlines
