Cape Town - An inaugural exhibition by Mashurah Arts with Greatmore Studios, aims to open up spaces for “consultation and advice” and dialogue in “the sphere of mostly exclusionary art practices and spaces”.
Derived from the Arabic term, Mashurah means “consultation” or “to seek advice”, and serves as a means through which people consult on topics of public importance, said the London born curator and writer based in Cape Town, Sara Bint Moneer Khan.
Khan founded Mashurah Arts on July 24, as part of her current PhD study on visual literacy and art advocacy in Cape Town's Muslim community.
The exhibition will run until September 30 from 10am to 4pm at 47 Greatmore Street, Woodstock.
“It aims to create a space for collaboration, development, dialogue and dissemination of artistic practices, with a special focus on Muslims and Islam in Africa,” said Khan.
The exhibition forms part of broader debates on post-colonial curatorship, art practice, engagement and collecting, she said.
“This show is an immediate response to my experience of the art space when I moved to South Africa from the UK. I encountered a lack of representation, sometimes misrepresentation and misunderstanding of Muslim narratives, as well as a lack of engagement and support for artists from these communities.”
Within the art industry and as a curator, Khan was met with hesitation for wanting to include Muslim artists or if there were thought to be too many, she said.
“I wanted to understand what the root of this hesitation was, which seemed overtly prejudiced. Therefore, I decided to curate an independent show to uncover these issues and promote dialogue,” said Khan.
Although receiving mostly positive responses, she faced some backlash and xenophobia.
“It’s important to highlight along with the positive, as it came directly from the art industry and highlights the underlining power dynamic that dominates these spaces,” said Khan.
Over two years, Khan engaged with 20 artists for the exhibition. A variety of mediums were used, from painting to photography, sculpture and video installation.
Greatmore Studios director Ukhona Ntsali Mlandu said: "With Greatmore being very deliberate about inching closer to this idea of being an artist-led community of practice, it made sense to respond and collaborate with the vision of these artists and their curator.
“We were drawn to the fact that the very premise of it did not claim to be anything too absolute, but rather a conversation starter and a provocation to more dialogue.”