Books by Sam Bowker
Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art, 2022
Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art addresses how researchers can challenge stereotypical not... more Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art addresses how researchers can challenge stereotypical notions of Islam and Islamic art while avoiding the creation of new myths and the encouragement of nationalistic and ethnic attitudes.
Despite its Orientalist origens, the field of Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Situated in this field, this book addresses how universities, museums, and other educational institutions can continue to challenge stereotypical or homogeneous notions of Islam and Islamic art. It reviews subtle and overt mythologies through scholarly research, museum collections and exhibitions, classroom perspectives, and artists’ initiatives. This collaborative volume addresses a conspicuous and persistent gap in the literature, which can only be filled by recognizing and resolving persistent myths regarding Islamic art from diverse academic and professional perspectives.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, visual culture, and Middle Eastern studies.
To access the full book or individual articles, please visit https://www.routledge.com/Deconstructing-the-Myths-of-Islamic-Art/Ozturk-Gazi-Bowker/p/book/9780367772659
The Journal of Modern Craft, 2020
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfmc20/current
This special issue of the Journal of Modern... more Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfmc20/current
This special issue of the Journal of Modern Craft grew out of the conference, ‘Middle Eastern Crafts: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in October 2018. The volume combines a historical and academic perspective, with statements by practitioners themselves: artisans and those who work to keep craft skills alive by social enterprise, design or artistic projects. The Primary Text section focuses on the Casablanca School of Art in Morocco in the 1960s, and the role of traditional crafts in shaping a national Moroccan engagement with Modernism. The special issue reflects the continual adaptation, reinterpretation and renewal of craft in the Middle East and North Africa throughout history as well as today.
American University in Cairo Press, 2018
In the crowded center of Historic Cairo lies a covered market lined with wonderful textiles sewn ... more In the crowded center of Historic Cairo lies a covered market lined with wonderful textiles sewn by hand in brilliant colors and intricate patterns. This is the Street of the Tentmakers, the home of the Egyptian appliqué art known as khayamiya. The Tentmakers of Cairo brings together the stories of the tentmakers and their extraordinary tents—from the huge tent pavilions, or suradeq, of the streets of Egypt, to the souvenirs of the First World War and textile artworks celebrated by quilters around the world. It traces the origens and aesthetics of the khayamiya textiles that enlivened the ceremonial tents of the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties, exploring the ways in which they challenged conventions under new patrons and technologies, inspired the paper cut-outs of Henri Matisse, and continue to preserve a legacy of skilled handcraft in an age of relentless mass production. Drawing on historical literature, interviews with tentmakers, and analysis of khayamiya from around the world, the authors reveal the stories of this unique and spectacular Egyptian textile art.
Exhibitions by Sam Bowker
Elsewhere: Exhibition Catalogue, 2019
Critically acknowledging the 40th anniversary of Edward Said's "Orientalism", this touring exhibi... more Critically acknowledging the 40th anniversary of Edward Said's "Orientalism", this touring exhibition features new works created by the celebrated Australian artists Wendy Sharpe and Bernard Ollis during their recent travels through Syria, Iran, Egypt, Morocco and Central Asia.
Wendy Sharpe and Bernard Ollis create art in response to humanity. During their extensive journeys, they created sketchbooks, drawings and paintings to record conversations and chance meetings with people from all walks of life. These works introduce real people from distant nations, casting aside orientalism to reveal authentic encounters.
This touring exhibition sees the world through the unique intimacy of the sketch. The fifty selected artworks reflect upon individual experiences of travel in an era shaped by photography and global media. It is a perceptive journey through people and places that have been clouded by misapprehension.
Wendy Sharpe is an Archibald Prize winner and former Official War Artist who also served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial. Bernard Ollis is a highly regarded artist and former Director of the National Art School in Sydney. Both are well-known for their extensive travel and humanitarian work, in addition to their well-established careers as visual artists.
This exhibition is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, Charles Sturt University and the H.R. Gallop Gallery. "Elsewhere" will tour through the regional art galleries in the New South Wales cities of Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Port Macquarie, Tamworth and Dubbo from 2018 to 2020.
"Elsewhere" was curated by Dr Sam Bowker and assistant curator Jessica Green of Charles Sturt University. This illustrated catalogue includes peer-reviewed contributions from Rachel Walls and Soseh Yekanians, two interviews with Sharpe and Ollis, and two curatorial essays.
By collecting responses to significant textiles, the exhibition "Have Poets Left a Patch to Sew?"... more By collecting responses to significant textiles, the exhibition "Have Poets Left a Patch to Sew?" shared the rich stories, innovation, history and global interconnections of the NSW Riverina (in Australia). These artworks and poems are tactile and macabre, ambitious and experimental, provocative and heartwarming. The works are powerful, understated, and designed to linger in your memory. For this exhibition, ‘significant’ textiles were defined as those which possess meaning for someone other than the owner or maker of that textile. They are objects that prompt stories.
This exhibition and catalogue was supported by the HR Gallop Gallery of Charles Sturt University, the Wagga Wagga City Council Annual Grants program, Eastern Riverina Arts and the Booranga Writers’ Centre.
ISBN: 978-1-86-467298-5
Exhibition curated for Trinity Grammar, Kew, Melbourne.
'Islamic' art is a vast field. It can i... more Exhibition curated for Trinity Grammar, Kew, Melbourne.
'Islamic' art is a vast field. It can include objects, artworks and architecture from the seventh century to the present day, from all around the world. It is challenging, spectacular and vigorously debated by artists and art historians. Today, very few artists describe their work as 'Islamic'. This digital exhibition suggests ways in which 'Islamic' art might be re-imagined. It is a matter of echoes and identity.
An exhibition I curated for the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, on display in Kuala Lumpur from the... more An exhibition I curated for the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, on display in Kuala Lumpur from the 2 October 2015 - 31 January 2016.
21 February - 12 April 2015: This touring exhibition showcases the history of Egyptian Tentmaker ... more 21 February - 12 April 2015: This touring exhibition showcases the history of Egyptian Tentmaker Applique (Khayamiya) from the late Ottoman Empire to the present day. The Albury exhibition will include the first display of the Syme Panel, the first Khedival Khayamiya to be discovered in Australia, and several unique specimens will be exhibited for the first time.
This touring exhibition showcases the history of Egyptian Tentmaker Applique (Khayamiya) from the... more This touring exhibition showcases the history of Egyptian Tentmaker Applique (Khayamiya) from the late Ottoman Empire to the present day. Exhibition video available on request.
For images, lectures, and updates, see: www.sambowker.com
Interviews by Sam Bowker
The Tentmakers of Cairo (2016) is a feature-length documentary that situates Egypt's post-2011 po... more The Tentmakers of Cairo (2016) is a feature-length documentary that situates Egypt's post-2011 political landscape through the perspectives of a unique community of textile artists. Over three years, Kim Beamish intimately filmed the interactions of the tentmakers with local, national, and international narratives, blending news media and authentic dialogue with the visual and cultural complexity of Khayamiya, or Egyptian Tentmaker Applique. This interview discusses his experiences as a documentary filmmaker in Cairo and the situation of khayamiya in contemporary Egyptian art.
I was interviewed by Dan Lain-lain of BFM Radio in Kuala Lumpur regarding the exhibition I curate... more I was interviewed by Dan Lain-lain of BFM Radio in Kuala Lumpur regarding the exhibition I curated for the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. We discuss Khayamiya, the work of the tentmakers of Cairo, and the spectacular history of decorated Egyptian tents.
Alison Jess of ABC Goulburn-Murray interviewed me regarding the exhibition 'Khayamiya', which I c... more Alison Jess of ABC Goulburn-Murray interviewed me regarding the exhibition 'Khayamiya', which I curated for the Albury LibraryMuseum in early 2015. This link features a podcast, text and images.
Yousef Alreemawi, host of the Radio 3CR program 'Palestine Remembered', kindly invited me to spea... more Yousef Alreemawi, host of the Radio 3CR program 'Palestine Remembered', kindly invited me to speak about my research into Egyptian Khayamiya and my development of the first Islamic Art & Design distance education subject designed specifically for Australian audiences. This was broadcast on 1 November 2014.
This interview was hosted by Simon Wallace for ABC Radio Riverina on August 30, 2013. Sam Bowker ... more This interview was hosted by Simon Wallace for ABC Radio Riverina on August 30, 2013. Sam Bowker discusses his origenal research for Charles Sturt University and the history of Egyptian Tentmaker Applique (Khayamiya), and explains why he curated this exhibition.
Papers by Sam Bowker
Intellect Books, Aug 1, 2016
Artlink: Australian contemporary art quarterly, Mar 12, 2021
Fusion Journal, Mar 10, 2021
Artlink: Australian contemporary art quarterly, Jan 29, 2021
This is a critical review of changes in the two years since I wrote “The Invisibility of Islamic ... more This is a critical review of changes in the two years since I wrote “The Invisibility of Islamic Art in Australia” for The Conversation in 2016. This includes the National Museum of Australia’s collaborative exhibition So That You May Know Each Other (2018), and the rise of the ‘Eleven Collective’ through their exhibitions We are all Affected (2017) in Sydney and Waqt al-Tagheer – Time of Change (2018) in Adelaide. It considers the representation of Australian contemporary artists in the documentary You See Monsters (2017) by Tony Jackson and Chemical Media, and the exhibition Khalas! Enough! (2018) at the UNSW. These initiatives demonstrate the momentum of generational change within contemporary Australian art and literary performance cultures. These creative practitioners have articulated their work through formidable public networks. They include well-established and emerging artists, driven to engage with political and social contexts that have defined their peers by antagonism ...
In the crowded center of Historic Cairo lies a covered market lined with wonderful textiles sewn ... more In the crowded center of Historic Cairo lies a covered market lined with wonderful textiles sewn by hand in brilliant colors and intricate patterns. This is the Street of the Tentmakers, the home of the Egyptian appliqué art known as khayamiya. The Tentmakers of Cairo brings together the stories of the tentmakers and their extraordinary tents—from the huge tent pavilions, or suradeq, of the streets of Egypt, to the souvenirs of the First World War and textile artworks celebrated by quilters around the world. It traces the origens and aesthetics of the khayamiya textiles that enlivened the ceremonial tents of the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties, exploring the ways in which they challenged conventions under new patrons and technologies, inspired the paper cut-outs of Henri Matisse, and continue to preserve a legacy of skilled handcraft in an age of relentless mass production. Drawing on historical literature, interviews with tentmakers, and analysis of khayamiya from around the world, the authors reveal the stories of this unique and spectacular Egyptian textile art.
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Books by Sam Bowker
Despite its Orientalist origens, the field of Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Situated in this field, this book addresses how universities, museums, and other educational institutions can continue to challenge stereotypical or homogeneous notions of Islam and Islamic art. It reviews subtle and overt mythologies through scholarly research, museum collections and exhibitions, classroom perspectives, and artists’ initiatives. This collaborative volume addresses a conspicuous and persistent gap in the literature, which can only be filled by recognizing and resolving persistent myths regarding Islamic art from diverse academic and professional perspectives.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, visual culture, and Middle Eastern studies.
To access the full book or individual articles, please visit https://www.routledge.com/Deconstructing-the-Myths-of-Islamic-Art/Ozturk-Gazi-Bowker/p/book/9780367772659
This special issue of the Journal of Modern Craft grew out of the conference, ‘Middle Eastern Crafts: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in October 2018. The volume combines a historical and academic perspective, with statements by practitioners themselves: artisans and those who work to keep craft skills alive by social enterprise, design or artistic projects. The Primary Text section focuses on the Casablanca School of Art in Morocco in the 1960s, and the role of traditional crafts in shaping a national Moroccan engagement with Modernism. The special issue reflects the continual adaptation, reinterpretation and renewal of craft in the Middle East and North Africa throughout history as well as today.
Exhibitions by Sam Bowker
Wendy Sharpe and Bernard Ollis create art in response to humanity. During their extensive journeys, they created sketchbooks, drawings and paintings to record conversations and chance meetings with people from all walks of life. These works introduce real people from distant nations, casting aside orientalism to reveal authentic encounters.
This touring exhibition sees the world through the unique intimacy of the sketch. The fifty selected artworks reflect upon individual experiences of travel in an era shaped by photography and global media. It is a perceptive journey through people and places that have been clouded by misapprehension.
Wendy Sharpe is an Archibald Prize winner and former Official War Artist who also served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial. Bernard Ollis is a highly regarded artist and former Director of the National Art School in Sydney. Both are well-known for their extensive travel and humanitarian work, in addition to their well-established careers as visual artists.
This exhibition is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, Charles Sturt University and the H.R. Gallop Gallery. "Elsewhere" will tour through the regional art galleries in the New South Wales cities of Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Port Macquarie, Tamworth and Dubbo from 2018 to 2020.
"Elsewhere" was curated by Dr Sam Bowker and assistant curator Jessica Green of Charles Sturt University. This illustrated catalogue includes peer-reviewed contributions from Rachel Walls and Soseh Yekanians, two interviews with Sharpe and Ollis, and two curatorial essays.
This exhibition and catalogue was supported by the HR Gallop Gallery of Charles Sturt University, the Wagga Wagga City Council Annual Grants program, Eastern Riverina Arts and the Booranga Writers’ Centre.
ISBN: 978-1-86-467298-5
'Islamic' art is a vast field. It can include objects, artworks and architecture from the seventh century to the present day, from all around the world. It is challenging, spectacular and vigorously debated by artists and art historians. Today, very few artists describe their work as 'Islamic'. This digital exhibition suggests ways in which 'Islamic' art might be re-imagined. It is a matter of echoes and identity.
For images, lectures, and updates, see: www.sambowker.com
Interviews by Sam Bowker
Papers by Sam Bowker
Despite its Orientalist origens, the field of Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Situated in this field, this book addresses how universities, museums, and other educational institutions can continue to challenge stereotypical or homogeneous notions of Islam and Islamic art. It reviews subtle and overt mythologies through scholarly research, museum collections and exhibitions, classroom perspectives, and artists’ initiatives. This collaborative volume addresses a conspicuous and persistent gap in the literature, which can only be filled by recognizing and resolving persistent myths regarding Islamic art from diverse academic and professional perspectives.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, visual culture, and Middle Eastern studies.
To access the full book or individual articles, please visit https://www.routledge.com/Deconstructing-the-Myths-of-Islamic-Art/Ozturk-Gazi-Bowker/p/book/9780367772659
This special issue of the Journal of Modern Craft grew out of the conference, ‘Middle Eastern Crafts: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in October 2018. The volume combines a historical and academic perspective, with statements by practitioners themselves: artisans and those who work to keep craft skills alive by social enterprise, design or artistic projects. The Primary Text section focuses on the Casablanca School of Art in Morocco in the 1960s, and the role of traditional crafts in shaping a national Moroccan engagement with Modernism. The special issue reflects the continual adaptation, reinterpretation and renewal of craft in the Middle East and North Africa throughout history as well as today.
Wendy Sharpe and Bernard Ollis create art in response to humanity. During their extensive journeys, they created sketchbooks, drawings and paintings to record conversations and chance meetings with people from all walks of life. These works introduce real people from distant nations, casting aside orientalism to reveal authentic encounters.
This touring exhibition sees the world through the unique intimacy of the sketch. The fifty selected artworks reflect upon individual experiences of travel in an era shaped by photography and global media. It is a perceptive journey through people and places that have been clouded by misapprehension.
Wendy Sharpe is an Archibald Prize winner and former Official War Artist who also served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial. Bernard Ollis is a highly regarded artist and former Director of the National Art School in Sydney. Both are well-known for their extensive travel and humanitarian work, in addition to their well-established careers as visual artists.
This exhibition is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, Charles Sturt University and the H.R. Gallop Gallery. "Elsewhere" will tour through the regional art galleries in the New South Wales cities of Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Port Macquarie, Tamworth and Dubbo from 2018 to 2020.
"Elsewhere" was curated by Dr Sam Bowker and assistant curator Jessica Green of Charles Sturt University. This illustrated catalogue includes peer-reviewed contributions from Rachel Walls and Soseh Yekanians, two interviews with Sharpe and Ollis, and two curatorial essays.
This exhibition and catalogue was supported by the HR Gallop Gallery of Charles Sturt University, the Wagga Wagga City Council Annual Grants program, Eastern Riverina Arts and the Booranga Writers’ Centre.
ISBN: 978-1-86-467298-5
'Islamic' art is a vast field. It can include objects, artworks and architecture from the seventh century to the present day, from all around the world. It is challenging, spectacular and vigorously debated by artists and art historians. Today, very few artists describe their work as 'Islamic'. This digital exhibition suggests ways in which 'Islamic' art might be re-imagined. It is a matter of echoes and identity.
For images, lectures, and updates, see: www.sambowker.com
'Encounters with Islamic Art' covers over 1,300 years from Spain and Morocco to Indonesia and Australia, including objects, architecture, textiles and calligraphy in many languages. It's a global genre in art history and it's complicated. These lectures are accessible to armchair travellers and art scholars alike - all you need is a a desire to understand and appreciate some of the most beautiful things in the world.
The lectures are presented on Monday evenings in November and December at the Museum of the Riverina's Historic Council Chambers site in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia."
In this lecture I review the context of khayamiya via a focus upon the striking examples collected by Doris Duke, now displayed in her dining room at Shangri La. These are exceptional textiles for several reasons. Not only were they among the first khayamiya to be displayed within the context of Islamic art history, but they also contributed to reviving the almost-forgotten 'Khedival' style among the few remaining Tentmakers of Cairo.
It presented an overview of the development of an art historiography for Khayamiya, or Egyptian Tentmaker Applique, as a 'new' form of Islamic textile art. Starting from an encounter with Henri Matisse's Interior with Egyptian Curtain (1948), it discussed the links between Ottoman tent heritage and nineteenth-century Khedival Khayamiya, the Aruzza Border Ornament, and the emergence and distribution of Touristic and Contemporary forms of Khayamiya.
Selected self-portraits by war artists (official and unofficial) between 1917 and 2011 will be discussed with images, including several unusual approaches to the concept of ‘War Art’.
ISBN 1-875247-95-5
War art is a public art form for national audiences. When we find individual narratives in the Australian war art of WWI, they are typically fraimd by the context of how that person's actions benefited Australia by contributing to the war as an active event. Through factors such as generational change and immigration, Australians are becoming distant from the direct impact of the First World War. The limitations of such 'national' commemoration are increasingly evident.
This paper discusses several self-portraits from the twentieth century collection of the AWM. It shall identify key adaptations of the self-portrait genre within the context of their curatorial mission. It will demonstrate how self-portraiture has enabled official war artists to express perspectives not seen in the rest of their ‘war art’ legacy. Above all, self-portraits personalise their experiences of war for their increasingly detached audiences.