Exhibitions

A collaborative exhibition between the Islamic Museum of Australia, La Trobe University and Bundoora Homestead Art Centre

Curated by Mahmoud Mohammed, Jacqui Shelton and Sarah Werkmeister

Artists: Abdul Abdullah, Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Cigdem Aydemir, Mirela Cufurovic, Rubaba Haider, Fatima Killeen, Aniwar Mamat, Nusra Latif Qureshi and Naeem Rana

Jaren | جڑیں | Roots | جذور is an exhibition across three venues, bringing works held in the collections of the Islamic Museum of Australia, Bundoora Homestead (City of Darebin) and La Trobe University into dialogue. Considering our shared context as neighbours, artworks have been chosen that reflect the diverse communities of artists that call or have called Australia home, specifically focusing on artists who express cultural heritage and practices from Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Artists in this exhibition share an interest in celebrating and challenging the cultural contexts that shape their lived experiences, often expressing their personal encounters and cultural histories, and how these have informed their beliefs. Spread between the Islamic Museum of Australia, Bundoora Homestead and La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus, many the artists in Jaren | جڑیں | Roots | جذور consider their role within the settler colony, while others examine their migration story, mixing humour and traditional techniques with contemporary formalism and subject matter.

Venue Exhibition Dates:
La Trobe University Borchardt Library, Bundoora: 7 Feb to 11 Jul 2025
Islamic Museum of Australia, Thornbury: 8 Apr to 12 Jul 2025
Bundoora Homestead Art Centre: 1 March to 21 May 2025

Image: Cigdem Aydemir, Whirl, 2015. Digital video. Courtesy of the artist.