ISLAMIC VISUAL ARTS AND CULTURE
(grades 3-12)

Marquis’ Islamic Arts program educates students about Islamic cultures through a variety of visual media, sparking dialogue by creating a space where students are encouraged to think about and explore various cultural traditions. Students begin by examining and collaging photographic images from around the Muslim world, learning vocabulary to describe various aspects of Islamic cultures, and creatively interpreting images to build new scenes and stories. Students create oil pastel pieces depicting images that they found especially compelling, focusing on visual storytelling as well as on decorative motifs from around the Muslim world. Students will explore basic principles of drawing such as perspective, horizon, vanishing point, and scale. Students will also engage in written reflection on their artwork, expanding their reflection on what they have learned about Islamic cultures and utilizing relevant vocabulary. Finally, students will work together to create a project that combines the work they have done separately; this project can take the form of a quilt, with individual paper and fabric prints stitched together to form a whole that incorporates representations of figures and activities as well as decoration inspired by Islamic calligraphy and architecture.

Lesson Plan – “Islamic collage/felt quilt ” Copyright Olga Hiiva and Marquis Studios, 2010.