IMAGE? The Power of the Visual explores image-making over the centuries through the lens of historic and contemporary artworks from diverse Muslim cultures.

The 62-piece exhibition reflects on humanity’s timeless preoccupation with images and explores their capacity to project power, reflect inner spiritual or poetic visions, give expression to ideals held dear, or express key aspects of identity.

We are surrounded, in fact inundated, by images and we often have little time to contemplate their deeper meaning; IMAGE? aims to open the visitor’s eyes to the power of images that surround us every day, be they in museums and galleries, on our smartphones or in the mass media.

The artifacts on display include exquisite folios, manuscripts, tiles, panels, drawings, paintings, bowls, photographs, textiles, and videos from the Museum’s own Collection; including 16 international loans from North America, Europe, and the Middle East from lenders such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Shahzia Sikander.