Musawah Launches Online Art Fellowship for Muslim Women in Asia

Musawah, a global movement focused on equality and justice in the Muslim family, has launched the Musawah Artists Collective (MAC) in an effort to harness the transformational power of art in campaigning for equality and justice. The MAC, led by project lead Afi Noor, seeks to empower young Muslim female artists throughout South and Southeast Asia.

The MAC, the first of its kind, is now taking applications through February 25. It targets feminist artists aged 22 to 30 from Muslim backgrounds. The four-month online fellowship, which runs from March to June 2024, aims to investigate the connections of art, feminism, and Islam.

Applicants must be nationals or permanent residents of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, or Bangladesh, and they must actively make work in their respective countries during the program. Accepted participants will work in disciplines such as documentary film, visual art, and creative nonfiction, guided by seasoned mentors such as Insia Dariwala and Dina Zaman.

Afi Noor stresses the program's objective of challenging conventions and promoting discourse on topics like as gender-based violence, child marriage, and polygamy, with the ultimate goal of mainstreaming justice for Muslim women. Accepted artists will get materials, seminars, one-on-one mentorship, and a supportive network to help them advocate for Muslim Family Law change.

With Musawah's significant activism experience, MAC hopes to cultivate a community of artists who are dedicated to promoting societal change through their artistry and devotion to justice.