Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

The first of its kind exhibition has been opened at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada.

The exhibition is about the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate descended from Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima.

The display, which runs until July 2, consists of luminous ceramics, intricate carvings shaped from rock crystals, and artefacts decorated with Kufic calligraphy and embellished with vines and leaves.

It is intended to showcase the life, times and the cultural expressions of the Fatimids.

The University Museum was opened on June 13, 1962 as  a one-room affair by Dr. Mamitua Saber. Known today as the Aga Khan Museum, it has the biggest Philippine Muslim collection in the country.

It is named after His Royal Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, whose donation made the construction of the building possible. The Museum was inaugurated on March 23, 1969.
Aga Khan Museum aims to collect and preserve folk art specimens and artifacts of the thirteen Muslim groups and other indigenous minorities of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan regions;

The Aga Khan, left, and Stephen Harper look over a model of the Aga Khan Centre and Museum yesterday, which will be built in Toronto by 2013.

AGA KHAN MUSEUM
77 Wynford Drive
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 1K1, Canada

14 October 2016

Syria: A Living History

Dear Patrons,

I am writing to you because we are on the eve of the opening of what I think can be seen as an
exceptional exhibition that the Aga Khan Museum has organized in Toronto. By creating “Syria:
A Living History”, the Museum has responded to what I believe can be deemed among the most
significant and serious events in recent years. This exhibition, and the programs around it, are

Director-General of Antiquities and Museums Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim has given a lecture about Syrian heritage during the opening ceremony of an exhibition opened on October 15th in Toronto in Canada under the title “Syria is a Live History”.

He focused on the Syria heritage damaged during the foreign-backed terror war being waged on Syria and the measures adopted by the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) to protect historic sites in cooperation with civil community.

Sharjah’s Barjeel Art Foundation, built on more than 1,000 modern and contemporary Arab artworks from the private collection of its founder Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, will launch its first exhibition in North America on ­Saturday.

The venue is fitting. Home Ground: Contemporary Art from the Barjeel Art Foundation will open at Toronto’s renowned Aga Khan Museum, whose mission is to foster a greater appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilisations have made to world heritage.

The collaboration

Hazar Imam waving at Ismailis gathered outside Museum anxiously awaiting Holy Deedar 2015-05-25

Prince Amyn, brother of His Highness the Aga Khan, celebrated his 77th birthday at the Opening of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto which is coincidentally located at 77 Wynford Drive in the Don Mills area of Toronto. Prince Amyn played a major role in the building of the Aga Khan Museum. His Highness the Aga Khan recognized this role in the these words at the Opening Ceremony - "And, of course, it is with deepest admiration that I thank the person whose guiding hand has been so important at every stage of this project: a member of my family, my brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan."

Toronto's New Aga Khan Museum

Toronto's Aga Khan Museum will give visitors a permanent spot to see one of the top private collections of Islamic art anywhere. © 2014 The Aga Khan Museum/Tom Arban (photo)

Toronto

Plenty of museums around the world collect Islamic art—from ornate Persian carpets to Mughal miniature paintings—but there's never been a museum in North America focused solely on exhibiting these pieces, until now.

Aga Khan Museum announces September opening date

The Aga Khan Museum’s exceptional collection of over 1 000 objects will be complemented by a vibrant performing arts programme. Photo: Tom Arban
The Aga Khan Museum’s exceptional collection of over 1 000 objects will be complemented by a vibrant performing arts programme. Photo: Tom Arban

It isn’t every day, or decade, that the city gets a beautiful new museum, not just paid for and fully stocked, but located in a part of town where architectural excellence is rare.

Toronto’s next important cultural institution, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Ismaili Centre next door will open this fall on Wynford Dr. near Eglinton Ave. and the Don Valley Parkway. The two stone-clad structures sit in a formal Islamic garden adapted to one of the most visible sites in Toronto, a 6.8-hectare high point known to countless commuters.

Dubai: North America’s sole museum dedicated to Islamic arts and cultures — the Aga Khan Museum — held its first international preview at the Ismaili Centre Dubai on Tuesday.
Located in Toronto, Canada, the Aga Khan Museum showcases a collection of more than 1,000 artefacts and artworks — in ceramic, metalwork, ivory, stone and wood, as well as textiles and carpets, among others — that span more than 1,000 years. The collection presents an overview of the artistry of Muslim societies from Spain to China.