Behold How Eloquent I Am In My Silence: The Art of Sughra Hussainy


Behold How Eloquent I Am In My Silence
The Art of Sughra Hussainy

Sughra Hussainy attended the Turquoise Mountain Institute in Kabul, from 2011 - 2014.  This school trains artists in traditional techniques to revive and preserve the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.  In 2016, Hussainy showed pieces in the Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan exhibition at the Smithsonian's Freer/Slacker Gallery.  This exhibition brought success for Hussainy, but her growing artistic reputation combined with her desire to bring about social change put her life in danger.  In 2017, she was told that it was unsafe for her to return to Afghanistan, so she has remained in the states since.  Hussainy enrolled in the Maryland Institute College of Art's MFA in Community Art Program in the Fall of 2018.  She lives and works in Baltimore.



Sughra Hussainy is trained in Afghani and Islamic styles of art including miniature painting, calligraphy, and illumination.  This exhibition follows her journey through her art - living in a country torn by conflict, escaping the Taliban, seeking asylum in the United States, and navigating a new language and country, all the while advocating fiercely for the importance and humanity of all people.



The wildly intricate pieces speak of breaking boundaries and pursuing social change for a group with no voice.  Hussainy asks us to push boundaries and let art become a platform through which we can speak of issues that force us into silence.  She speaks on behalf of women, and of Muslims, in Afghanistan, working to empower those who have faced challenges that often compelled them to remain silent.




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