About
Mission
Art cannot be called "sacred" just because the subject is "religious"; its formal execution must also echo spirituality. Our hope here at RSSA is for individuals in the United States and beyond to be exposed to the art forms that have flourished for centuries founded on a science of subtleties.
Through the hosting of events, workshops, lectures, performances, and exhibitions, our mission is to create a paradigm shift in how the public approaches sacred art and music. RSSA aims to cultivate understanding of the sacred aspects of the artistic process from inspiration to execution.
Making beautiful objects, learning complex patterns, working with your hands seem to be coded into our DNA. Traditional art such as sacred geometry, Arabic calligraphy, paper illumination, miniature painting, or woodcarving often have their origins outside of the United States. There are many people who travel to Istanbul, Fez, Delhi, Lahore or London to learn these art forms. As the director of an organization whose mission it is to promote these “niche crafts" at universities and museums, I know through firsthand experience of a burgeoning group of people compelled to travel abroad to learn from masters. Some of these individuals spent ten, twenty years, honing these skills. Reed Society works hard to bring these men and women, now teachers, to the United States and transmit the cultural knowledge that is encased within these forms of art.
We believe traditional art forms have the seeds of culture enfolded within them, knowledge that has been practiced for hundreds of years. In our very complex American society, with such heterogeneous populations coexisting, it is incumbent for each one of us to learn the history of one another. Traditional art forms offer unique insight into other cultures but also provide a much needed healing effect on populations that have been cut off from their traditions, including various diaspora populations, immigrants, and refugees.
From my own practice of Arabic calligraphy to my work in promoting these art forms, I believe that not investing in bringing these art forms is actually detrimental to the overall health and well being of our society. We are invested in working with universities, museums and nonprofits to create platforms where we can preserve and promote these forms of art.
Aisha Imam
Aisha Imam is the founder and executive director of Reed Society for the Sacred Arts and an aspiring calligrapher, working under the guidance of Mohamed Zakariya and Nuria Garcia Masip. She has served on the Islamic Art Advisory Committee at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, consulted with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, and collaborated with The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and numerous universities and other nonprofits across the United States to promote sacred art and music. Aisha lives in Bethesda with her husband and four daughters.
Vincent Osier
Mr. Vincent Osier is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist, and statistician by training and occupation. He has had a lifelong interest and passion for the arts and history. His journey with Arabic script calligraphy began in 2011 when he was accepted to be a student of master calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. He is particularly fascinated by the history and development of the Arabic script, including Ottoman Turkish and Persian, especially the Ottoman master calligraphers and the Istanbul school and their spiritual influences. A native of Minneapolis, he now resides in the Washington, DC with his wife, two wonderful children, and two cat companions.
Emin Lelić
Dr. Emin Lelić received his doctorate from the University of Chicago, where he defended his dissertation on science and empire in the Ottoman Empire. His interests include calligraphy, Ottoman, Middle Eastern and Eastern European history and literature, and horseback riding. He is currently an Associate Professor of history at Salisbury University.
Institutions and organizations we have collaborated with in the past:
The Walters Art Museum
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
GWU Textile Museum
Qatar America Institute Culture
United States Institute of Peace
Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
Ghost Ranch
Princeton University
George Washington University
American University
Salisbury University
University of Chicago
Yale University
Stanford University
District of Raga (Washington DC)
Sufi Corner (Monteclair, NJ)
Seldon Institute (Chicago, IL)
Dar Al Islam (Abiqui, New Mexico)
Naadvistar (Delhi, India)
Barzak Cafe (Brooklyn, NY)
West African Calligraphy Institute (Pecos, New Mexico)
© 2024 Reed Society for the Sacred Arts