Muslim Student Association holds first Islamic Art Fair

By The Argo on February 5, 2024

Written for The Argo by Iman Ahmed

On January 31, 2024, the Muslim Student Association held their first Art Fair in honor of Muslim Heritage Month.

Food from the Mediterranean, Falafel, Baba Ghanoush, Kufta with sides including Hummas and Tzatziki sauce were provided for attendees. The event began with a presentation by Asma Waheed. It showed the different forms of art in Islam. Islam prohibits the use of faces of people or animals called aniconism. Due to this, there are unique forms of art including calligraphy, vegetal patterns, and geometric patterns, used throughout the history of Islamic Art.

Stockton Student, Zainab Khawaja, proudly shows the art that she created in the totebag-making station. Photo Courtesy of Iman Ahmed.

The presentation continued with the different tools that are used as well as the importance and values of said tools. Guest speaker, Asma Waheed, MFA Resident Artist at MICA, informed attendees on the importance of Islamic Art.

Waheed explained, “tools used for calligraphy are considered valuable. Professional calligraphers have even been buried with their art tools.” She talks about all of the forms of art, including calligraphy. The word calligraphy means “beautiful writing” and that is what it is, as is showcases names and words in an artistic way.

There were four interactive stations for attendees to create their unique art pieces. The stations included calligraphy, pottery, totebag making, and watermarbling.

The pottery station was led by Waheed, who helped teach attendees how to create pinchpots with their bare hands and on the pottery wheel.

The calligraphy station was led by Stockton’s own Eastern Brush Painting Club. Melissa Zou and Elsa Heisler helped students learn to use calligraphy pens so they could write their names in Arabic.

Melissa Zou, MSOT Graduate and President of Eastern Brush Painting Club, shared her experience of attending the event. She explains, “I found the event mind-opening towards spreading awareness of Arabic art. I often find that there is little to learn about Eastern art and their history in America. Typically, when we think of art from Asia, the mine goes to Japan and China. So, I was happy to see and learn about art from other countries that are not so mainstream.”

The water marbling station was led by Yasemin Sayin and Hayat Sayin. Participants were able to do the Turkish art with swirl patterns created within water. The totebag making station was led by art students Vi Lin and Onisha Alamgir. The art style that was used is called Ajrakh, where attendees used unique block printed techniques to paint and create design on their tote bags.

Vendors including Jahdai’s jewelry, art by Waheed, and printed totebags by Onisha Alamgir. The Noyes Art Garage showed great support as they supplied MSA with tools for the totebag making station.

The E-board of the Muslim Student Association 2023-2024 from Left to Right, Saami Rahman, Ahnjeles Maldonado, Zikra Naz, Huda Waheed, Tasfia Khan, Umaima Rabby, Iman Ahmed, Naada Moustafa, and Hamza Mourad. Photo Courtesy of Iman Ahmed.

Loukaia Taylor, Multicultural Communications Specialist for Stockton’s University Relations and Marketing, shares how much fun she had during the event.

She says, “The art fair was amazing! My favorite part of the event was seeing the large amount of students there – when they weren’t participating at an art station, they were speaking with the fabulous guest speaker and learning more about the significance of Islamic art, enjoying delicious and cultural treats or even tabling for their own small business or club. The MSA has really stepped up and taken initiative when it comes to planning and executing events like this that invite the campus community to explore Islam in a way that is engaging and truly impactful for our campus. I look forward to seeing more events like this from MSA and other student groups at Stockton!”

Stockton Alumnus Abrar Thabata works at the calligraphy station, creating art out of her name. Photo Courtesy of Iman Ahmed.

A member of Muslim Student Associaton, Umaima Rabby, a third year health science student, talks about how it felt to be able to experience the event ;“The Islamic Art Fair was so much fun. Despite Stockton being a school of Art, different forms of art are not showcased. This event allowed for those art types to not only be shown but become a firsthand experience for all of us. With great effort, Muslim Student Association created an amazing event that will be a core memory for not only me but many students who came to the event. People had brought their families, non Stockton students even showed up. It was altogether a great event and I hope to see more event like this in the future.”

Huda Waheed, a senior majoring in health science, Vice President of Muslim Student Association, explains how this event was a dream of hers that she was able to bring to life.

Waheed says, “Stockton has all the resources that you need to start an event. All you need to do is be motivated and there are so many kind people willing to help us out. When you have a vision, when you’re passionate about something they believe in you. They believe in that vision and they are more than willing to help you make that a reality and make that possible. The Noyes Art Garage and Justin Grey really helped us out with that station. People were so excited and in awe of the flier created by Onisha Alamgir. It was an event with collaborations with so many people and to finally see it happen, it almost didn’t feel real. I am really grateful, Alhamdulillah [Praise to be God], that Allah SWT allowed the event to work out the way that it did. It was the Qadr [Fate] of Allah.” She ends her thoughts with saying, “Alhamdulillah [Praise to be God] it was a really good event and I am happy that people enjoyed and were able to experience Islamic Art.”