New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art made headlines in 2011 when it reopened its Islamic art galleries after years of renovation .. struck a chord with visitors curious to see another side of Islamic culture.
Now, a new [Aga Khan] Museum set to open in Toronto next week, with more than double the Met’s gallery space, is poised to establish North America’s first dedicated home for Islamic art.
Ainsley O’Connell for Fast Company
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art made headlines in 2011 when it reopened its Islamic art galleries after years of renovation. Amid ongoing American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 19,000 square-foot wing, complete with a Maghrebi-Andalusian-style courtyard built from scratch by Moroccan artisans, struck a chord with visitors curious to see another side of Islamic culture.
Now, a new museum set to open in Toronto next week, with more than double the Met’s gallery space, is poised to establish North America’s first dedicated home for Islamic art.
Pritzker Prize-winner Fumihiko Maki designed the 47,000 square-foot Aga Khan Museum, its smooth granite facade topped with crenels that evoke a battlement. Inside the fortress-like walls, patterned glass skylights and floor tiles echo Islam’s famous mosaics.
Ismailimail 