The LOOK and MIRROR exhibitions of Australian picturebook art

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Fatima Killeen

I have just returned from the fantastic LOOK! and Mirror exhibitions                at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. The exhibitions showing the original                        “art of Australian picture books” are displayed in two separate spaces; one is the collaged illustrations of Jeannie Baker from her Moroccan/Australian themed book Mirror and in the other section LOOK has the work of forty other Australian children’s book illustrators including Bob Graham, Ann James, Shaun Tan, Graeme Base, Leigh Hobbs and Terry Denton. The LOOK exhibition opened at the State Library of Victoria and the Canberra show is the second stop on a tour of regional Australia.

The cover of “Mirror” by Jeannie Baker; a book comparing family life between Morocco and Australia

The collaged artworks of Jeannie Baker were created for her children’s picture book titled “Mirror.” The book shows the day-to-day similarities between families in Morocco and Australia. The book has no text and the illustrations are collaged with all manner of materials to produce beautiful original artworks for the pages of the book. The two covers of the book fold out so both sides can be read together – a Moroccan side and an Australian side. While both the Mirror and LOOK exhibitions are displayed side-by-side in Canberra they are in fact travelling on separate tours.

CLICK HERE for the Mirror dates and more information.                                                      Check out this video of the book Mirror on the ABC news website.

Moroccan image from Mirror

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High fashion in Morocco – Caftan 2012 Maroc collection

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Fatima Killeen

Last weekend (Saturday 12 May) was the annual Caftan fashion show at the Palais des Congress in Marrakesh. The twelve designers included Cain Allah El Batoul, Dar Oum Al Ghait and Siham El Habti. The theme for 2012 was the Treasures of Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan explorer who in the 14th Century travelled throughout the Islamic world for thirty years. In addition, young designers have been given the opportunity to showcase up to eight caftans they have designed for the fashion show.

Take some time off and read the official Caftan blog with clips and images from earlier years and enjoy this video of the 2012 collections.

Translate this blog by pasting the URL address HERE

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Australian Muslim Women’s Arts Project and No Added Sugar exhibition – News and interviews

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Fatima Killeen

The No Added Sugar exhibition opening at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre on Saturday 12 May 2012 is the culmination of twelve months of community engagement and hard work by the artists and project coordinators. The group of artists from different cultural backgrounds have worked with the Australian Muslim Women’s Arts Project (AMWAP) initiatives in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

The project is a national arts engagement project, funded by the Human Rights Commission and the Australia Council for the Arts. The AMWAP link above includes the names of all the artists and staff involved in the project.

Here are some links to articles and interviews in the newspapers and on ABC National:

Muslim women showcase their talents – ABC Radio National, 8 May 2011                         Crossroads of East and West – Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2012                               Muslim Women Artists – Photo Portfolio – Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2012      Engaging with Home – Emily Parkinson, Australian Financial Review, 5-6 May 2012         Its state of the art for Muslim women – Melissa Matheson, The Telegraph, 6 May 2012   Fast Five with …. Rusaila Bazlamat – Artfiles – In Focus, 1 May 2012                           Canberra artist in Casula exhibition….. – Helen Musa, Canberra City News, 9 May 2012 Mapping the riches of Muslim artistry – Ian Cuthbertson, The Australian, 24 Nov 2011 Muslim women share artworks and writing – Farah Abdurahman, SW Advertiser, 11 April

Posted in Canberra, Islamic art, Mixed media, Moroccan art, Morocco, Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Added Sugar at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Fatima Killeen

Over the last twelve months I have been part of the Australian Muslim Women’s Project organised by the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. The No Added Sugar exhibition has come about from community engagement workshops and can be visited from 12 May to 18 July 2012.

I will be travelling up to Sydney this weekend for the opening and short talks by artists from Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. Images of my artworks are on display at the  No Added Sugar exhibition can be viewed on the website at www.fatimakilleen.com

It would be great if you could take time out to visit the exhibition over the coming weeks.

In the name of Rumi -Fatima Killeen - www.fatimakilleen.com
In the name of Rumi 2012  – One of the artworks on display in the No Added Sugar exhibition at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre from 12 May 2012
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