An Invitation to all Visual Artists and Poets in the Ismaili Community

Please click on the following links for works published at this website:
Poetic Expressions: The Poets and their Poetry
Visual Arts: The Artists and their Works

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SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE FESTIVAL OF POETIC EXPRESSIONS

Please click: Expressions of the Golden Jubilee: Festival of Poetic Expressions

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And please also read:

Modern Artistic Expressions: Guidelines for Submitting Images and Poetry

Good art work is generally characterized by beauty, skill, inherent meaning, uniqueness and fulfilled intent.

These characteristics were evident in the works of art that were created by Ismaili artists around the world as the community celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the Imamat of His Highness the Aga Khan from 11^th July 2007 until 13^th December 2008.

Professional and other talented artists dedicated their time and material resources to create beautiful, imaginative, meaningful and unique works of art. Those with imaginative minds used words to their full potential and rendered marvellous and heart warming poetry.

The visual arts and poetic compositions reminisced about the community’s diverse cultural practices and traditions, conveyed messages of hope and happiness, and sought to bring forth the much cherished Islamic values of compassion, generosity and unity.

Art and Culture is receiving more attention from the younger generation in the community, as was seen by the number of objects that were created to commemorate the Golden Jubilee.  In the Visual Arts, contributions were in the form of paintings, sculptures and ceramics as well as photographs and electronic media.

Many contributions were steeped in mystery and symbolism while the contribution of several others clearly demonstrated the sentiments of love and affection that they shared with millions of Ismailis worldwide for their 49^th Imam, Prince Karim Aga Khan, who has steered his community to even greater heights of spiritual and material well-being.

Alas, the works of many of these individuals go unnoticed or unrecognized. The works are mostly shared with families and friends.

There are two specific categories of art – and more in the future – that we want to launch on this web site to benefit artists and poets.

The first is in the visual arts area. We would like to offer Ismaili Artists in every continent and country an opportunity to showcase what they consider to be “good or extraordinary art work”. This showcasing will be done through the publication in this page, “Modern Artistic Expressions”, of finely scanned images submitted by the artists.

It is realized that photographs and images can never articulate the full essence and meaning of the original works, but they can provide clues about the skill levels of the artists and the quality of their works. Images offer some tangibility. Great art work portrayed through a magnificent picture can even evoke a strange nostalgia of owning the object or at least acquiring its print.

There is another objective about this initiative which perhaps may be more important from the view of the artists and also art lovers.

We want artists around the world to get to know one another and to start collaborating to organize joint exhibitions – locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally. Such exhibitions can be held in private or public art galleries, community centres, libraries, coffee shops and even airport terminals. The possibilities of venues and locations are endless!

Perhaps it is this collaboration within the artistic community that will set the pace to rid us of our “individualism”. We certainly have examples from His Highness the Aga Khan’s own initiatives which have brought talented individuals together, such as architects and designers, to form new partnerships and create new ventures.

The second important initiative that we feel we can support is poetry. The question would be asked about categorizing poetry in “Artistic Expressions”.

Some years ago, a poet by the name of Bettie Sellers was reading from her compositions at a Folk School in South Carolina. The two poems that she read and discussed were about the Brasstown Bald Mountains in the North Georgia Mountains. At the end of the readings she went on to tell the audience that her first poem was like a landscape painting and the second one like a portrait painting.  “A poem is like a painting”, she observed.

Aristotle himself knew the merits of poetry. He remarked that poetry is superior to history “because it uses words in their fuller potential, and creates representations more complete and more meaningful than nature can give us in the raw”.

Ismaili history is full of poetic expressions which have represented the innermost religious and emotional sentiments of individuals who composed them and the community at large. Poetic expressions in the form of Qasidas and Ginans also impart stories and good moral and ethical teachings.

What is hoped – as in the visual art –   is once again a collaborative and concerted effort between  Ismaili Poets  (or those with  “Imaginative Minds” who write poetry). This can result in joint readings and performances and lead to a series of coordinated publications through private or community supported initiatives.

As of Monday, May 11, 2009 Simerg has started accepting images of your visual art objects and your poetic compositions – but before you send anythings please read:

Modern Artistic Expressions: Guidelines for Submitting Images and Poetry

We are hoping for a positive response over the next few days, months and years from all sectors of the Ismaili community around the world.

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