New York exhibition includes art from the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia

New York’s Met Opens New Islamic Art Wing
By Nikola Krastev, Charles Recknagel – November 12, 2011

The New York exhibition includes art from the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia.

NEW YORK — New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its new wing of Islamic works in a major effort to increase Americans’ understanding of Islamic culture.

The new wing, which opened on November 1, includes 15 galleries displaying historic art from across the Islamic world. This includes the art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia.

But the exhibits go well beyond merely displaying priceless objects that dazzle visitors with their beauty and craftsmanship. They also trace the course of Islamic civilization over 13 centuries to show how much it and its contributions are part of the world’s shared cultural heritage.

The museum says its goal is to dramatically widen Americans’ perspective on Islamic culture. The opening of the new galleries comes 10 years after 9/11 defined many Americans’ impressions of the Muslim world in a negative way.

Now, the Met — as the museum is affectionately known — hopes to give people a deeper, objective understanding of Muslim culture and history.

“There is great potential for changing people’s opinions and the reason is that we provide a lot of information that is historical, so people have an opportunity to come to a neutral space where there is no political point of view,” says Sheila Canby, the curator in charge of the Museum’s Department of Islamic Art. “We are trying simply to give context to the objects that we have on view.” …more