From the Balkans to Bengal in Baltimore: Engaging Diasporas, Shaping Publics, and Reimagining Islamic Art in American Museums

How should American museums that present Islamic art engage the diasporic communities that are increasingly recognized as key public constituencies? How have these diasporic publics been constituted inside and outside institutional museums? What strategies might best encourage communities to move from viewing art to responding to it—and in doing so, reshape how it is interpreted in public spaces?

These questions are at the heart of the organization of this international conference, which takes place over two days at the University of Maryland, College Park, and in Baltimore at the Walters Art Gallery, Islam & Print, and Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Organized by Sarah Slingluff (ARTH), Peter Wien (HIST), and Karin J. Zitzewitz (ARTH), this conference will feature a keynote address by Dr. Stefan Weber, Director, Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin, a site visit at the Walters Art Museum led by Dr. Ashley Dimmig, former Wieler-Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow of Islamic Art. An accompanying exhibition, LANDLINE, has been curated by Safiyah Cheatam of Islam & Print, Baltimore, at the University of Maryland Art Gallery.

The conference is co-organized by the College of Arts and Humanities, the Department of Art History and Archaeology, and the Department of History, with support from Department of American Studies, Roshan Institute of Persian Studies, Center for Global Migration Studies, University of Maryland Art Gallery, Enoch Pratt Free Library, and Islam & Print.

Conference registration here

Location: Ulrich Recital Hall, Tawes Hall, University of Maryland

9:30-10:00 Registration

10:00-10:30 Welcome and Introductions

10:30-12:00 Panel #1: Interpreting and Presenting Islamic Art, moderated by Ünver Rustem, Johns Hopkins University

Ekin Akalın, University of Nantes and the Autonomous University of Madrid, The Missing Showcase of Modernity in Islamic Art Galleries and the Ottoman Military Painters (1839-1939)

Elnaz Latifpour, University of Virginia, Rewriting the Label: Interpreting Qashqai and Southern Iranian Weavings in Western Museums

Constance Jame, Musée d'art Roger-Quilliot, Performing the Objects: Beyond Materiality and Art Historical Discourses

12:00-1:30 Lunch

1:30-4:00 Panel #2: Curating Islamic Art and Muslim History in American Institutions, moderated by Karin Zitzewitz, University of Maryland, College Park

Nadirah Mansour, Lake Forest College, Building a Collection of Arabic Calligraphy by Living Artists at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Acquisitions, Interpretation and Community Outreach

Rachel Winter, Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, When Paintings Become About Palestine: Samia Halaby in Michigan

Hiba Abid, New York Public Library, Uncovering Islamic Heritages in New York: Fostering Community Connections via Niyū Yūrk and Further Initiatives

Amy Landau, Fowler Museum, University of California, Los Angeles, Curating the work of an Iranian American artist in “Tehrangeles”

Ladan Akbarnia, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Silent Revolutions and Small Victories: Reflections on curating Islamic visual culture

Location: Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, University of Maryland

4:15-4:45 Tour of LANDLINE, curated by Islam & Print, University of Maryland Art Gallery

4:00-5:30 Reception, Atrium

5:30-7:00 Keynote, Stefan Weber, Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin, moderated by Peter Wien, University of Maryland, College Park, Rm. 2203

10:00-10:15 Meet at Walters Art Museum

10:15-12:15 Guided Tours of Islamic Galleries at Walters and Making Space/Islam & Print

12:15-1:30 Lunch at the Helmand, registration required

Location: Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201

1:30-2:30 Special Collections Tour, Pratt Library

2:30-4:30 Panel #3: Engaging Communities, Reimagining Publics, moderated by Harold Morales, Morgan State University

Alison Kysia, Independent Artist, Muslim American Artist in the U.S.: Contemporary perspectives on art, faith, and identity

Melissa Forstrom, Purchase College, SUNY, and Ashley Dimmig, Crossman Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Sharing Authority: Engaging Historic and Contemporary Diasporic Community Members at the Walters Art Museum

Basmah Arshad, University of North Texas, ‘If Not Now, When?’: The Arab American National Museum During the Post-9/11 Era and Afterward

Sarah Slingluff, University of Maryland, College Park, Beyond the Museum Walls: Challenges and Opportunities in Curating Islamic Art for Virtual Audiences

4:30-5:30 Gathering at Stem & Vine

Schedule

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Friday, September 25, 2026