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LANDLINE

Muslim diasporas rooted in memory and place.

Two framed figurative artworks hang on a white gallery wall decorated with small flowers, stars, and symbolic numbers. The left artwork portrays a woman in a white patterned dress within a vibrant landscape of pink water, trees, and celestial imagery. The right artwork shows a woman in a dark robe with fiery motifs against a bright red background. The numbers "786" and "666" appear above and below the works, respectively.
Date and Time
  • Wed. Sep 16 11:00am
  • Thu. Sep 17 11:00am
  • View all dates
Location UMD Art Gallery, Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building
COST

Admission is free and open to the public. 

Islam & Print presents LANDLINE, a multimedia group exhibition featuring contemporary Muslim artists whose diasporic identities are shaped by memory, language, spirituality, and connections to the natural world. Guest curated by Safiyah Cheatam, the exhibition brings together works that explore the enduring ties between homeland, heritage, and belonging through sculpture, printmaking, textiles, painting, and other media.

Drawing on personal and collective experiences of Islamic diaspora, the artists in LANDLINE examine familial histories, oral traditions, land dispossession, and the reimagining of memory. The exhibition's title evokes both communication across distance and the geographic boundaries through which identity is formed, revealing how cultural traditions, spiritual practices, and ancestral connections continue to resonate across generations. LANDLINE offers a nuanced and expansive vision of contemporary Islamic art, one rooted in lived experience and sustained by networks of memory, place, and care. 

Founded in 2022 by Dan Flounders and Safiyah Cheatam, Islam & Print is a Baltimore-based biennial printmaking fellowship dedicated to championing diverse Muslim experiences, building an archive of prints, and supporting the professional development of emerging visual artists. Through collaborative printmaking opportunities, Islam & Print expands access to screen-printing while fostering a regional network of artists working across disciplines and traditions. 

An in-person exhibition preview and reception will take place on Tuesday, September 15, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. This event is in collaboration with The Clarice's NextNOW Fest 2026. 

This exhibition is co-organized by the University of Maryland Art Gallery and Islam & Print. Design and installation were led by Preparator Korey Richardson and operational support from Business Manager Jonathan Ogbazghi. Additional contributions were made by Curatorial Assistants Haojian Cheng and Filippo Grassi. 

LANDLINE is presented in conjunction with the international conference, From the Balkans to Bengal in Baltimore: Engaging Diasporas, Shaping Publics, and Reimagining Islamic Art in American Museums, held September 24–25, 2026, at the University of Maryland, College Park, and at cultural sites throughout Baltimore. Organized by Sarah Slingluff, Peter Wien, and Karin Zitzewitz, the conference is hosted by the Department of Art History and Archaeology and co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities and the Department of History. Together, the exhibition and conference create a platform for exploring the histories, experiences, and cultural contributions of Muslim communities across diverse geographic and diasporic contexts.

Major exhibition support is provided by the Dorothy and Nicholas Orem Exhibition Fund. Generous support is also provided by the Maryland State Arts Council. This exhibition is presented in association with the College of Arts and Humanities and University of Maryland’s Arts for All initiative.

Image (Above): Hoor Imad Sherpao, Hell, 2024, 5-color screenprint on cotton paper, Edition of 20 for Islam & Print. Courtesy of the artist. Slider (Homepage): Hoor Imad Sherpao, Heaven (Detail), 2024 5-color screenprint on cotton paper, Edition of 20 for Islam & Print. Courtesy of the artist.