From the Balkans to Bengal in Baltimore

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: https://arthistory.umd.edu/research-innovation/balkans-bengal-baltimore-engaging-diasporas-shaping-publics-and-reimagining