Last night saw the launch of ‘Heaven to Heaven’ – an exhibition held at Kinross Arts Centre in partnership with the @islamicmuseumaustralia.
This event comprised a spectacular collection of photography capturing the raw pathos of the Arbaeen, by photographer Tom Toby of @wildfireimages as well as a compelling documentary by director, Sayyad Hamid Mostaja. This documentary is scheduled to feature on the ABC in the near future.
As Curator of the IMA, I was invited to moderate a ‘conversation’ with Tom and Sayyad, learning about the significance of the Arbaeen and the impetus for forming the Heaven to Heaven production team. Guests were intrigued at the historical purpose of the pilgrimage from Najaf to Karbala undertaken by millions of Muslims annually and Tom’s gift for storytelling ensured rich conversation.
Tom previously participated in the IMA’s inaugural Arts Symposium in March this year, where he discussed his imagery from the Arbaein. This link provided a perfect segue to a collaborative venture between our museum and Kinross in promoting an art form depicting a spiritual platform.
Do yourself a favour and visit this exhibition in Toorak. These larger than life images of shrines, crowds and hauntingly beautiful portraiture of faces amongst the crowds, are deeply evocative. Heaven to Heaven is running until 15th September at the Kinross Arts Centre, 603 Toorak Rd, Toorak.
#soul #sacrifice #remember #stories #images #curatortales #tasneemchopra #crossculturalconsultant
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