Northwest welcomes exhibit featuring artwork of Najjar Abdul-Musawwir

The Northwest Missouri State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts will host an exhibition featuring the work of multidisciplinary artist Najjar Abdul-Musawwir Oct. 4-31.

A virtual lecture to commemorate the opening of the exhibit in the Olive DeLuce Art Gallery begins at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5. The public may view the presentation live online via Abdul-Musawwir’s Facebook page.

Abdul-Musawwir is an internationally recognized artist who has exhibited in the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe. His creative works draw from African-American culture, Islamic philosophy and an upbringing in institutional racism.

He was introduced to art at a young age and has maintained an interest in it throughout his life. While in prison, as a result of getting into some trouble during his teenage years, he learned to read, studied art and earned his GED.

Abdul-Musawwir has been recognized with an invitational artist-in-residency with Dr. Esther Mahlangu in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, and a self-residency at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and Warren M. Robbins Library in Washington, D.C. His work has been featured in an invitational solo exhibition for Fine Art Gallery at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, and the Black Creativity Exhibition at the Illinois Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Abdul-Musawwir works as a professor of studio arts and art history in the School of Art and Design and Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. He also is president of the African American Museum of Southern Illinois.

Abdul-Musawwir’s lecture and exhibit are sponsored by Northwest’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Northwest’s DeLuce Art Gallery opens 1 to 3 p.m. each Tuesday or by appointment. For more information about the DeLuce Gallery and upcoming exhibits, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/finearts/deluce/ or contact the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at 660.562.1326.