This event is free and open to all.
Join Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs Professors Ebrahim Moosa, Mirza Family Chair of Islamic Thought and Muslim Societies, and Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies, in welcoming Dr. Mounia Chekhab-Abudaya, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, for a public talk at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.
Dr. Mounia Chekhab Abudaya completed her Ph.D. in Islamic Art History and Archaeology at the Pantheon Sorbonne University in Paris and specializes on the Western Mediterranean, manuscripts and pilgrimage-related devotional materials in the Islamic world. With a great interest in languages, Dr. Chekhab-Abudaya holds a double degree in Literal Arabic and Middle-Eastern Dialects from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO). She took part in the revamping of the Museum of Islamic Art's permanent galleries, which reopened in 2022, alongside a temporary exhibition Baghdad: Eye's Delight. In 2024, she curated an exhibition entitled Splendours of the Atlas: A Voyage through Morocco's Heritage, in partnership with the National Foundation of Museums of Morocco.
Dr. Checkhab Abudaya’s visit will also prepare Notre Dame students in the spring semester course, “ReDiscovering Convivencia,” for their week-long immersion trip to Granada, Spain, where they will explore the nexus of the arts, architecture, history, politics, religious studies, and more as they existed in Muslim Spain. Her expertise in Islamic art and how diverse communities shape works of art and architecture will ground students in how scholars and curators draw meaning from visual culture and the challenges of curating sacred and religious objects.
Learn more about the course and student exhibition
About the Venue
The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art is located on Notre Dame’s campus on St. André Way near the corner of Eddy Street and Angela Blvd. Visit the museum’s website for more information on travel and parking as well as accessibility details. For questions about access, please contact the museum’s Visitor Services at (574) 631-5466.
Funding & Support
This exhibition and its related events are made possible with funding from Notre Dame’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the Contending Modernities Research Initiative, and the Mirza Family Chair of Islamic Thought and Muslim Societies.
“ReDiscovering Convivencia” is a partner program of the 2027 Notre Dame Arts Biennial and is supported with funding from the Notre Dame Arts Initiative.
Image: "Alhambra" by Alan Trotter, CC BY-NC 2.0.