In the wake of travel ban, NYC's Islamic Art Institution plans its first show

ARTNET NEWS
By Sarah Cascone

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Untitled (2015). Courtesy of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art.

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA), New York’s newest arts space, has not yet found a permanent home. But that won’t stop it from moving ahead with its first exhibition. The institute is opening to the public on May 4 in Little Italy with a show of work by four contemporary women artists. The space will serve as a temporary location while the institute searches for a permanent headquarters in New York. The project—dedicated to work by artists from the Arab and Islamic worlds—has taken on new significance following President Trump’s ill-fated travel ban, which targeted individuals from six majority-Muslim countries and threatened to dramatically suppress cultural and academic exchange. [link]