ADELAIDE.- From 24 August 2019, the Art Gallery of South Australia will present its largest and most expansive collection display of Islamic art to date. Spanning the past twelve centuries and including pivotal works from across the globe, No god but God: The art of Islam dissects the intimate connection between faith and art in Islam across the ages. 

Presented as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival 2019, No god but God takes its title from the Muslim Declaration of Faith, ‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger.’ The display encompasses the geographical distance between Morocco and Australia and includes numerous recent acquisitions and works of art shown to the public for the first time. 

Key elements of Islamic art such as manuscripts, miniatures, coins, jewellery, costumes and textiles will be included in the exhibition. No god but God draws on AGSAs collection, including AGSAs collection of Islamic ceramics - the largest in the Southern hemisphere, as well as private loans from across Australia. 

To coincide with the exhibition, AGSA presents a four-week short course titled Art and Islam coordinated by ASGA’s Curator of Asian Art, James Bennett, and led by internationally respected scholars. Conceived for individuals with little or no prior knowledge of Islam or its aesthetics, the course considers the ways in which religion has defined the historical identity of art across the Muslim world.