Washington Report, August 2005, pages 50-51

Special Report

IN/VISIBLE Art Exhibition Inaugurates Arab American National Museum

By Maymanah Farhat

	Points of Proof, 2005, by Mariam Ghani (©Miriam Ghani).

SINCE ITS inauguration in early May, the Arab American National Museum has hosted events that aim to educate the community on the impact and contributions of Arab Americans throughout American history. The May 19 opening of the art exhibition IN/VISIBLE and three-day symposium on “Exploring New Forms and Meanings: the Intersection of Audience, Ideas and Art” exemplified the museum’s dedication to providing outlets through which Arab Americans can convey their identity and experiences to the greater community.

Currently on display until Oct. 30, IN/VISIBLE is an inspiring showcase of art by first- and second-generation Arab Americans. The first of its kind, the exhibit features the works of Yasser Aggour, Rheim Alkadhi, Doris Bittar, Abdelali Dahrouch, Mariam Ghani, John Halaka, Nabila Hilmi, Emily Jacir, Mohammad O. Khalil, Amina Mansour, Sumayyah Samaha, Athir Shayota, Helen Zughaib and Afaf Zurayk. Together, their pieces successfully communicate the realities and concerns of Arab Americans, while defying media stereotypes that continue to suppress the Arab-American voice. 

The IN/VISIBLE artists employ a range of media—including film, drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, poetry and sculpture—and provide individual reflections on such issues as family, love, immigration, globalization, war, political conflict and identity. 

Doris Bittar’s Why We Are Like Our Parents, Mama & Me, Lebanon 1960 (©Doris Bittar 2004).

The opening of IN/VISIBLE corresponded with the art symposium designed to initiate dialogue between Arab-American artists, scholars and the community. The art exhibit, panel discussions, art presentations and film screenings all were part of the May 19-21 event that inspired discussions concerning the effectiveness of art on the greater community and the exploration of identity and experience.

The works included in the exhibit are diverse in appearance and media, yet all are thought-provoking. Each artist engages the viewer with journeys of identifying the past, while communicating one’s identity and looking to the future. IN/VISIBLE projects a universality that is communicated through each piece through an examination of various aspects of the human condition.

Artist Mariam Ghani explores issues of identity in Points of Proof, 2005, a video, Web site and mixed media installation based on a database generated by a single question: “If someone questioned your right to call yourself an American, what is the one story, object, image or document you would offer as your proof?” The result is a fascinating array of responses by Arabs and Arab Americans in the Detroit area. Through Ghani’s piece, we are given a glance into the difficulties faced when one’s nationality is consistently questioned. Points of Proof offers an often-silenced community the opportunity to define itself during this critical point in history.

	Helen Zughaib’s Prayer Rug for America (©Helen Zughaib).

In her painting, Prayer Rug for America, 2001, Helen Zughaib further explores such issues of nationality and identity through the depiction of a Muslim prayer rug which uses the influence of traditional Islamic mosaics and American flags to challenge the viewer’s perceptions of what it means to be Arab, American or Muslim. The synthesis of the two recognizable symbols of culture forces the viewer to explore his or her own thoughts on understanding and tolerance during these difficult post-9/11 times. Upon closer assessment of the piece, the viewer is captivated by a riveting question that was also explored in Ghani’s Points of Proof—what does it mean to be Arab American?

Both Ghani’s and Zughaib’s work are excellent examples of how Arab-American artists have been instrumental in negotiating the difficulties of living between two cultures. The works included in IN/VISIBLE challenge the so-called “borders” that lie between minority and immigrant communities and mainstream American society. Through their work, the artists of IN/VISIBLE affirm that fixed cultural borders no longer suffice to define many first- and second-generation Americans.

Such fusion of cultures is combined with examinations of the artist and individual in the context of this imperative moment in history. Thus, IN/VISIBLE is an historical event not only for Arab-American artists, but for the greater community as well. The artists of IN/VISIBLE provide us with a better understanding of a community that has long been silenced. Through their works we are moved by the need for the continuous articulation of experiences and realities of a people that have remained invisible for far too long.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog, IN/VISIBLE: Contemporary Art by Arab Americans, edited by curator Salwa Mikdadi, available for purchase from the Museum gift shop. For further information on the exhibition contact the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126, (312) 582-AANM (2266). For more information on the artists who participated in IN/VISIBLE e-mail <curator222-aanm@yahoo.com>.