Manifesting the Unseen

09/10/2021

It’s been such a fantastic turnout - so great to see so many people enjoying the exhibtion and the poetry recital.

Jeea

Having an amazing time at the closing celebration of Manifesting The Unseen: Southampton 2021 hosted by Southampton City Art Gallery curated by Nazia Mirza of Manifesting the Unseen with Solent Showcase Gallery. Thank you everyone for coming!

04/10/2021

We’re excited to announce the closing celebration event for Manifesting The Unseen: Southampton 2021 on the 9th October at the Southampton City Art Gallery from 10am - 5pm.

We would love to invite you to a closing celebration on the final day of the exhibition, on Saturday 9th October from 10am. The events are free and open to all, on Commercial Road above the library. On the day our artists will be demonstrating different elements of Islamic art, conducting tours of the work of the exhibition, and poetry performance and recitals. Please visit our website www.manifestingtheunseen.com for times and a full programme.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!

03/10/2021

This beautlful piece by lives up to its name and gives us all Solace. Swipe for some close up views.

On show with Manifesting the Unseen at with

29/05/2021

So thrilled to share this new piece created by for our show in Southampton
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Sara Choudhrey
Siraat, 2021

Siraat presents a deconstructed, reimagined, astrolabe.

An astrolabe is an ancient celestial instrument, used to measure, map and visualise the space around and above us. In Siraat, the historical components have been interwoven with multi-layered narratives relating to the local and global, referencing time and place through stories of displacement, belonging, identity and heritage.

Siraat is a site-specific installation commissioned for the new exhibition: Manifesting The Unseen 2021: Southampton, now open to the public !!

الحمدالله

A huge thank you to curator Nazia Mirza of for this amazing opportunity. And also the teams at and finally for their support.

21/05/2021

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Sneaky sneak peek

20/05/2021

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Looking for light.

Celestial Navigation I. New work for

18/05/2021

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Condition checking Maryam Zamani I and Al-Jaqmaqiyya I before packing and sending to for the 2021: Southampton exhibition

Recurring themes in my work have been on the concept of spaces and borders, illustrated through literal forms yet referencing real-life scenarios where people are constrained by all kinds of boundaries. These can be geographical in nature or societal or cultural. Sometimes we have the freedom to choose but there are many who have no choice. The patterns I use in my work are not arbitrarily selected. They are based on surface design and decorative arts from specific historical sites across the globe. Material output and expression is often celebrated but also allows us to engage with necessary narratives about peoples and places. You can’t take one without accepting the other. Yes there is beauty but there is also sorrow and oppression. A juxtaposition that we cannot deny.

14/05/2021

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Jummah Mubarak folks.

I’ve been working on some new pieces this year for the new show which is opening in Southampton later this month.

Am really excited to start sharing some of my journey with you, as these pieces have been a real labour of love and are filled with personal meaning which I will share more about over the coming days.

Here’s a work in progress pic from the early stages of this particular piece. Hope you like it 😊

13/05/2021

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Eid Mubarak

تَقَبَّلَ اللّهُ مِنَّا وَ مِنْكُمْ

Wishing all a heartfelt, blessed and peaceful Eid إن شاء الله‎

Image: a sneak peak of I’m developing for a site-specific installation for exhibition soon opening

More details below...

Posted • We’re excited to announce that a new exhibition “Manifesting the Unseen: Southampton 2021” will be on display in the Gallery when we reopen on May 28th.

is an arts and culture project, led by and featuring Muslim women, that seeks to expose new audiences to Islamic art and its modern cultural expression. Born out of discussions on the invisibility of marginalised identities in public space and how Islamic art remains a hidden treasure for many in the West, poet and Curator Nazia Mirza brought together a collective of Muslim women creatives to deliver their extremely successful exhibition in London in 2018.

The 2021 exhibition sees the collective create new pieces inspired by Southampton’s maritime history and its reputation as the ‘Gateway to the world’ including a new commissioned installation from artist Sara Choudrey.

Covid-19 and the lockdowns of 2020 unfortunately halted exhibiting the full exhibition in Solent Showcase Gallery, but we are delighted to be able to host “Manifesting The Unseen - Southampton 2021”. Twinned with this main exhibition, the window space of will present a work enitled “Jaali” by two local artists Nazneen Ahmed and Abeer Kayani.

Many more elements of this city wide exhibition to be announced soon!

12/05/2021

We are super excited to Share this news!


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We’re excited to announce that a new exhibition “Manifesting the Unseen: Southampton 2021” will be on display in the Gallery when we reopen on May 28th.

is an arts and culture project, led by and featuring Muslim women, that seeks to expose new audiences to Islamic art and its modern cultural expression Born out of discussions on the invisibility of marginalised identities in public space and how Islamic art remains a hidden treasure for many in the West, poet and Curator Nazia Mirza brought together a collective of Muslim women creatives to deliver their extremely successful exhibition in London in 2018.

The 2021 exhibition sees the collective create new pieces inspired by Southampton’s maritime history and its reputation as the ‘Gateway to the world’ including a new commissioned installation from artist Sara Choudrey.

Covid-19 and the lockdowns of 2020 unfortunately halted exhibiting the full exhibition in Solent Showcase Gallery, but we are delighted to be able to host “Manifesting The Unseen - Southampton 2021”. Twinned with this main exhibition, the window space of will present a work enitled “Jaali” by two local artists Nazneen Ahmed and Abeer Kayani.

Many more elements of this city wide exhibition to be announced soon!
Artwork:

11/05/2021

Exciting news! We are bringing our exhibition to Southampton!

We’re excited to announce that a new exhibition “Manifesting the Unseen: Southampton 2021” will be on display in the Gallery when we reopen on May 28th. ‘Manifesting The Unseen’ is an arts and culture project, led by and featuring Muslim women, that seeks to expose new audiences to Islamic art and its modern cultural expression

Born out of discussions on the invisibility of marginalised identities in public space and how Islamic art remains a hidden treasure for many in the West, poet and Curator Nazia Mirza brought together a collective of Muslim women creatives to deliver their extremely successful exhibition in London in 2018. The 2021 exhibition sees the collective create new pieces inspired by Southampton’s maritime history and its reputation as the ‘gateway to the world’ including a new commissioned installation from artist Sara Choudhrey

Covid-19 and the lockdowns of 2020 unfortunately halted exhibiting the full exhibition in Solent University Solent Showcase Gallery, but we are delighted to be able to host “Manifesting The Unseen - Southampton 2021”. The window space of Solent Showcase Gallery will present a work entitled “Jaali” by two local artists Nazneen Ahmed and Abeer Kayani.

Many more elements of the exhibition to be announced city wide soon!

Image © Jeea Mirza

18/12/2018

Well it’s been a busy few days for the team. After an incredible closing event, filled with poetry, music, love and light, it was with very full hearts that we took our exhibition down this weekend.

We have been overwhelmed by the incredible support we have received and continue to receive from all of YOU! We are so grateful for everything and want to say a huge THANK YOU to every single one of you. You’re the best! 💛

If you didn’t make it down in person - we have created our exhibition online, and all of the artwork can still be viewed and enjoyed on our website at www.manifestingtheunseen.com

Image: close up from the Garden of Reflection by the incredibly talented Mobeen Akhtar

For those who want a lasting memento of the exhibtion, we have also made a small number of our special publications available again for online purchase at www.manifestingtheunseen.com/shop