The Arts of Islam at Yale

As part of a major renovation and expansion project which was completed in December 2012, the Yale University Art Gallery has created a new installation of the arts of Islam designed to complement the broad spectrum of Yale courses that examine aspects of Islamic art, culture, society, history, politics and religion.  The new Mimi Gates Study Gallery, located on the first floor of the Old Yale Art Gallery building, features highlights of the Gallery’s Islamic art collection in a display that will remain on view for several semesters.  The opening of the installation will be marked by a Gallery Talk given by Kishwar Rizvi, Associate Professor of the History of Art at Yale.

Kishwar Rizvi, “Masterpieces of Islamic Art at Yale”• March 27, 12:30pm
Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street

In her talk, Professor Rizvi will highlight the diversity and complexity of Islamic art, through a discussion of the historical and theoretical significance of select examples on view in the Mimi Gates Study Gallery.

The Gallery is named in honor of Mimi Gardiner Gates ’81 Ph.D., the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Gallery from 1987 to 1994 and currently a member of the Gallery’s Governing Board and the Yale Corporation.  The objects in the new display were chosen in consultation with Professor Rizvi to represent many of the broad themes and characteristic media and styles of Islamic art. The installation highlights the arts of the book, ceramics and decorative arts, textiles and the arts of the loom, and the arts of building.  With objects ranging in date from the eighth century to the twenty-first century and originating from the Middle East, South Asia, Iran, Africa, Indonesia, and Europe, the gallery underscores the vast chronological and geographical reach of Islamic art. Light-sensitive textiles, garments, manuscript pages, and miniature paintings will be rotated on a regular basis, allowing for a greater variety of works to be available.

At Yale, almost fifty courses, taught by more than thirty faculty members in a wide range of disciplines, examine some aspect of Islamic art, culture, society, history, politics, or religion. In the study gallery, the students in these courses will have the opportunity to engage with works of art to enrich their understanding of this important field of study.  As a Study Gallery, this new installation is specifically intended to engage faculty, teaching fellows, and students through course visits, assignments, and research projects.  To find out more about opportunities to incorporate the installation into taught courses, as well as other resources at the Yale University Art Gallery, please contact Kate Ezra, Nolen Curator of Education and Academic Affairs, at kate.ezra@yale.edu.