Contemporary Artists Explore Islamic Futurism Through Digital and Traditional Media

Artists are developing Islamic futurism, a movement that draws on Islamic philosophy and visual traditions to imagine future possibilities. This emerging framework references medieval Islamic astronomy and is influenced by precedents like Afrofuturism. Key practitioners include Ibrahim El-Salahi, a Sudanese modernist painter who integrates calligraphy into abstract compositions; Soraya Syed, a British-Pakistani-French calligrapher who earned formal certification in Istanbul; Zarah Hussain, who uses digital programming to animate Islamic geometric patterns; Fabrice Monteiro, a Dakar-based photographer whose series "The Prophecy" addresses environmental issues through Islamic cosmology; and the collective MIPSTERZ, founded in New York in 2012, which organizes events like the 2022 ALHAMDU conference. Works have been exhibited at venues including Tate Modern in London, the Barbican in London, Vigo Gallery in London, Leighton House in London, the Art House in Wakefield, UK, and the Tribeca Festival in New York. The movement explores how historical Islamic art and thought can inform visions of the future through diverse media such as digital animation, installation, photography, and collaborative projects.