Interviews with women artists connected with the Islamic world and their compelling works that are shaping contemporary art today. Showcasing artworks that offer political and poetic commentary on many of today’s major global issues, Being and Belonging also features powerful and intimate interviews with 25 women artists from the Islamic world and beyond. Born and living in many different countries, the artists claim space and place as equal commentators on the world we live in today.
Whether addressing domestic spaces, political displacement, war, discrimination, or gender and sexuality, these artists invite us to move away from easy and schematic representations of the world. The featured artists include Sama Alshaibi, Shahzia Sikander, Dilyara Kaipova, Lubaina Himid, Manal AlDowayan, Shirin Neshat, Mona Hatoum, and Tayeba Begum Lipi, and the works included in the book range from paintings, drawings, photography, and ceramics to mosaics, textiles, graffiti, animation, and video installations.