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Call for Submissions - Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim (anthology)

Deadline: 31 March 2012

Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim

Ruminations on Being, Creating, and Believing

This is a call for submissions for a new project, the anthology Artist Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. As you well know art and all its various forms, such as poetry, performance, film, illustration, fashion, are often misunderstood and even demonized in the greater Muslim community. The intent of this project is to reflect on the experiences of creative/creating Muslimahs to (insha Allah) dispel some of these myths as well as to inspire others to maximize their God-given talents and the blessings available through doing so.

As this project hopes to reveal (notice we didn’t say “unveil”!) a wide scope of the artists and artistic happenings, both visual and literary, across the ummah, we are open to accepting a diverse array of writing styles, including and by no means limited to essays, dialogues, creative non-fiction writing and poetry that is directly relevant to the subject matter. We would also like to include some inspiring, entertaining and/or insightful interviews of artsy sisters. You are welcome to put together an interview for submittal, contact us for suggestions of sisters of interest, or run by us ideas of potential interviewees.

Works which include excerpts from Quran, hadith, and other Muslim Maxims are of course welcomed in this project, however if your style or preference does not include such, your work is also welcome as we strive for inclusion of a diverse representation of believers, respecting the individuality in each Muslim point of view. This is not an anthology of “Islamic Art,” rather it is an anthology of Muslim Women Artists. In the spirit of inclusivity we ask that writers consider their readers and therefore cannot accept any work which includes vulgarity or explicit depictions of sex. Submissions from Sisters of Color are especially appreciated.

We would love to hear about issues related to being a Muslim woman artist, such as:

  • Internal and external struggles with accepting yourself as a artist
  • Rectifying your culture, art and religion
  • Epiphany-like moments related to being an artist
  • Art and dawah
  • Art as ibadah
  • Art as rizk: Being a working (as in selling) artist
  • Accepting yourself as being a creative being or non-working (as in selling) artist
  • Creativity and your community
  • Reflections on historical Muslim arts and artists which inspire you
  • Anything else related to your being an artist, a woman and a Muslim

Submission Guideline Details:
  • Email all submissions both as .doc and pasted in the content of your email to intersectionsanthology@gmail.com
  • Maximum 5,000 words
  • Include a 2-3 sentence biography
  • If you have one, include website or blog url

Submissions due March 1st, 2012 PLEASE NOTE THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 31, 2012

Information about compensation, copy rights and similar will not be available until a publisher has been secured, minimally each accepted entry will receive a copy of the anthology.

Please help spread the word! Share the submission guidelines for Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim on your blog, website, social networks and with all of your creative sisters.

Editors:

Brooke Benoit is an almost graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute and has a B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of Alaska at Anchorage. She lives in Casablanca, Morocco where her current preferred mediums are gemstones and words.

Aaminah Shakur is a self-taught experimental poet and artist whose work is most informed by her First Nations/Indigenous and traditional Sufi Muslim cultures. She has produced four zines and is currently tangled up in yarn.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: intersectionsanthology@gmail.com

For submissions: intersectionsanthology@gmail.com

Website: http://intersectionswomanartistmuslim.tumblr.com/

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Call for Submissions - Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim (anthology) + call for submissions