Islamic art - Nsenga Knight

Alhamdullilah for a Great Year

Circular Black and white oil paint text on vegetable parchment paper. by Nsenga Knight, inspired by the sacred pilgrimage rituals of Hajj, evoking resilience and collective movement toward justice

Even in the midst of all the challenges we are facing collectively, I hope you are full of excitement for the new year. The thing that keeps people going even in the most difficult times (like the genocide we are witnessing in Palestine) is a certain hope for the future – even if that’s onlyContinue reading “Alhamdullilah for a Great Year”

THE COST OF FREEDOM

Nsenga Knight and Samah Gafar at the Contemporary Image Collective in Cairo presenting X Speaks in front of a full audience. A projection of Malcolm X interview in Cairo is behind them.

We’ve been hearing, seeing, and reading about the unrelenting Israeli attacks on Gaza since October that resulted in the loss of about 18,000 Palestinian lives. It is a horrifying present with little to no time between attacks to digest the news or even for Gazans to bury their dead. As I stand in solidarity with theContinue reading “THE COST OF FREEDOM”

Live from PALESTINE

I don’t think I had ever witnessed a Black woman reporting international news from abroad on a major TV network until just a few weeks ago when I saw Nima Elbagir – a Black woman fluent in Arabic, in Jerusalem covering the release of a number of Palestinian people from Israeli prisons as part ofContinue reading “Live from PALESTINE “

FREEDOM.

I believe that art and artists are charged with the task of truth-telling and being whole, fully autonomous beings regardless of the institutions, nationalities and communities we are part of or working with. The closer we are to our Creator and higher selves, the easier it is to discern the truth even in troubled times.Continue reading “FREEDOM.”

Never Again

I – a Black Caribbean American Muslim woman from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, attended public school where the vast majority of my teachers were Jewish, although most of my school’s student bodies was about 99.99% Black. In school, they taught us more about their suffering via the holocaust than our own Black American or African history. And itContinue reading “Never Again”

HOT ARTIST SUMMER: Social Practice, Lunches, and Being Present

I’ve been enjoying spending more and more time outside as the warmer summer weather rolled in. Don’t get me wrong, I love producing works in my studio, and during my In Situ Fellowship and Artist Residency at Queens Museum, I have spent so much time in the archives of the museum. I used to goContinue reading “HOT ARTIST SUMMER: Social Practice, Lunches, and Being Present”

Nsenga Knight Open Studios Day 1 | Fitra: Amber

Starting from inspiration, I’m creating my new Fitra series which is inspired by The Book of Sufi Healing. Here’s a recap of Day 1 of my virtual Open Studios.

Three artworks available from the Last Rite series

My Last Rite series (pictured above) reflects on Malcom X’s janaza (Islamic funeral rituals). During a a very scary time in the Black community – for Black Muslims who followed Malcom X especially, key people in the Black Muslim community stepped up to lead this important Islamic ritual and courageous Black Christian leaders offered theirContinue reading “Three artworks available from the Last Rite series”

NSENGA KNIGHT: OTHER STARS, SOLO EXHIBITION | AUG. 17 – OCT 11, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NSENGA KNIGHT: OTHER STARS, SOLO EXHIBITION KWAN FONG GALLERY OF ART AND CULTURE AUG. 17 – OCT 11, 2018 and EXHIBITION TALK WITH HALIMA TAHA OCT. 9, 2018 6 pm Nsenga Knight, Other Stars Don’t Behave So, 2013 ink and wax drawing, 20 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist. Continue reading “NSENGA KNIGHT: OTHER STARS, SOLO EXHIBITION | AUG. 17 – OCT 11, 2018”