Anila Quayyum Agha: Between Light and Shadow to transform Toledo Museum of Art galleries

Anila Quayyum Agha: Between Light and Shadow will transform three Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) galleries into stunning illuminated spaces this fall. Opening Oct. 19, 2019, and running through Feb. 9, 2020, the exhibition will occupy Galleries 4, 5 and 9. 

A Pakistani-American artist, Agha will create three awe-inspiring spaces from intricate patterns of light and shadow, evoking the sacred, while also raising questions of exclusion and belonging. She won the two top prizes at ArtPrize, the international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2014. Her entry, titled Intersections, is the first work to win both the ArtPrize Public Vote and Juried Grand Prizes. Intersections is one of three patterned-steel sculptures by Agha included in the exhibition.

“Having lived on the boundaries of different faiths such as Islam and Christianity, and in cultures like Pakistan and the United States, my art is deeply influenced by the simultaneous sense of alienation and transience that informs the migrant experience,” Agha said.

As an interdisciplinary artist, she creates artwork that explores global politics, cultural multiplicity, mass media, and social and gender roles in the current cultural and global climate, explained Diane C. Wright, TMA’s curator of glass and decorative arts.

“This exhibition will offer an immersive, sensory experience,” Wright said. “As visitors progress through the exhibition, their movements will modify the projected light and patterned shadows, creating a unique interaction with each visit.”

Anila Quayyum Agha: Between Light and Shadow is sponsored by KeyBank, the TMA Ambassadors and the Ohio Arts Council with additional support from 2019 Exhibition Program Sponsor ProMedica.