SPOTLIGHT: The Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education (ACCE)
Amirah Nasir & Briana Thomas
Article
March 31, 2024
The Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education (ACCE) is an Islamic art gallery and resource center, initiated by IFANCA®, located in downtown Chicago. It is dedicated to creatively educating the community on Islam and Muslims, while also preserving the community’s diverse history, heritage, and stories. ACCE works collaboratively with individuals, academic institutions, religious organizations, and public and private entities. It supplements existing educational programs at schools, universities, and other venues with free training sessions, presentations, and additional resources, aiming to foster culturally competent generations. ACCE offers three main services: educational presentations, creative events, and visits to our exhibition space.
Founded around 2015, the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education (ACCE) completed its final gallery space and permanent exhibition in December 2018. The exhibition contains 10 panels, each featuring reproductions of artifacts that hold significant contextual relevance to the explored themes. Each panel includes an interactive tablet featuring quizzes, additional images, and unique facts. Supplementary sculptures are crafted by both local and non-local artists, while the main panel paintings were completed entirely by the renowned artist and Chicago native, Shawn Michael Warren. Notably, all the paintings were custom-made for the exhibition and specifically omit any depictions of animate beings or persons to align with Islamic artistic tradition.
In The Beginning The Qur’anic narrative holds that God created all things in the universe. Because creation is explicitly attributed to God, the Qur’an puts forth the interconnectedness of humanity, often referring to humanity as the “Children of Adam.”
The permanent exhibition, Timeline of the Prophets, consistently sparks curiosity, connection, and joy. It’s rare to find a space where we can see both the threads that unite us and those that diverge. The Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education serves as a place that does exactly that—interweaving new threads of connection while recognizing differences.
The Timeline of the Prophets is a collaborative effort, created by artists from diverse backgrounds who, through their own education, acquainted themselves with Islamic, Christian, and Judaic traditions. Each panel features a Muslim perspective, offering a unique lens on the shared stories.
Noah’s Ark By Aaron Delehanty This diorama depicts the final part of Noah’s journey in the Ark, inspired by the artwork of the Mughals. The Mughals were a Muslim empire in India that ruled from the early 1500’s to the mid 1800’s. In this scene, the waters are receding and hope, in the form of a rainbow and the appearance of dry land, is emerging. For the Abrahamic faiths, this story is important because it demonstrates the interconnectedness of humanity after the Deluge and it is a story of hope in the face of adversity. Adherents of the Abrahamic faiths can look to this story as inspiration in dark times.
The space also includes models of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and Early Kaaba. The fifth floor is not just an exhibit; it’s a reflection of our identity—a place for dialogue, learning, and remembrance.
Early Prophet’s Mosque This model depicts the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina in the time of Muhammad (ﷺ). The Prophet’s Mosque is one of the earliest mosques of Islam, built when Muhammad and the early Muslims immigrated to Medina fleeing persecution. It was originally a simple structure, expanded as necessary as the need arose. It was a place of worship and a gathering place for Muslims and served as an embassy of sorts when Muslims would receive delegations from other lands. In Medina, Muhammad achieved an unprecedented level of cooperation amongst the Jewish and Arab polytheistic tribes, bringing them together in a sense of fraternity and mutual defense. 1. Muhammad’s house 2. Houses under construction. The artist desired to show some of the building techniques used in the mosque by demonstrating in this structure 3. Reception area for delegationsEarly Kaaba This model represents the Kaaba in roughly the first hundred years after the death of Muhammad (ﷺ). The Kaaba is believed by Muslims to be the first house of worship for humanity dedicated to God, built by Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. It has been damaged, destroyed, and rebuilt many times over millennia. In the time of Muhammad, it was dedicated to Arab polytheism but rededicated to the worship of God by Muhammad and the early Muslims. The early Kaaba was a simple structure that was adorned with a simple cloth, likely made out of linen. The semi-circular wall is known as the “Hateem” believed to be part of the original foundations of the Kaaba. The rectangular footprints mark an area known as the “Standing Place of Abraham” where Abraham is believed to have stood and prayed to God after rebuilding the Kaaba with his son, Ishmael.
Since its inception, ACCE has developed creative programming offered to schools and prominent universities throughout the Chicago area. These programs include presentations and workshops such as Islam for Educators, Muslims in the Workplace,Art Making and Resistance, and Islamic Art and Tessellations and more. ACCE has had the privilege of delivering curated education to institutions like Roosevelt University, DePaul University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
ACCE proudly serves as a core partner with Communities in Schools (CIS) Chicago, a local chapter of a national organization providing under-served youth access to extracurricular programs and resources at Chicago Public Schools and other locations. Over the past six years, ACCE has conducted programming in Chicago’s Northside, Westside, and Southside neighborhoods, offering workshops including Islamic Art and Tessellations,Muslim Women in STEAM, and Islam 101 for grades K-12.
“Everything from this workshop was new to me. I learned how intentional design in Islamic art is and how it is always rooted in spirituality. I also learned what the words Muslim and Islam actually mean in translation. It was very beautiful and informative,” said a participant in our tailored workshop, Islamic Art and Resistance, conducted at Marwen Arts Center.
Islamic Art and Resistance Workshop
In 2023, ACCE expanded its CPS programming, building on previous years of engagement. Each workshop provides the Chicago community a window into learning about their Muslim brothers and sisters through avenues of social justice, art, architecture, and history.
Additionally, ACCE serves as both a proud core partner and board member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance (CCA), an active consortium of over 40 cultural heritage museums, centers, and historical societies in the Chicago area. ACCE takes pride in a leadership role within the Chicago Cultural Alliance as a Muslim space, considering the little representation our community receives on a larger city scale. Through CCA, ACCE collaborates with other local cultural centers in the city to co-host a variety of diverse programming such as, Suitcase Stories, an evening of storytelling through objects people have brought with them across borders. This event honored diasporic communities and touched on ideas of cultural representation, displacement, and belonging. In this example, we were able to co-host with DANK Haus German American Cultural Center and the Indo-American Museum, both being partners we have cultivated through CCA collaborations.
Historically, ACCE opened its doors to individuals from all walks of life, fostering dialogue, particularly among the Abrahamic communities. One of its past initiatives was the women’s interfaith book club, Daughters of Abraham, which met monthly. Examples of books read include “The Fox Hunt” by Mohammed Al Samawi.
Daughters of Abraham Interfaith Book Club
Recent programs at ACCE have focused on combining cultural exploration with current events, such as hosting a Tattreez workshop to honor traditional Palestinian embroidery as a form of resistance. ACCE offers diasporic art workshops in stitching, painting, and building, rooted in communities with a Muslim presence, along with film screenings and other events. Artists, educators, and activists regularly engage with ACCE in various capacities to co-organize initiatives aimed at community empowerment and cultural representation. ACCE holds a strong belief that maintaining a presence in the city requires their active involvement and perspectives, which are often overlooked in broader Chicago city initiatives and in neighborhoods that lack resources.
ACCE uses its space to co-organize with other collectives and professionals to offer community empowerment resources, including skill shares, community healing circles, mental health resources, student organizing, and more. In addition, a rotating artist residency program has been established that showcases the work of various artists exploring Abrahamic themes relevant to the center, with a priority on amplifying voices from the Muslim community and reflecting the cultural diversity of the community. The artist residency program highlights themes such as migration, justice, and diversity and offers a space for local artists to showcase their work in the heart of downtown Chicago.
Looking forward, ACCE aims to expand its network locally, statewide, and nationally, inviting diverse groups and organizations to explore and collaborate on meaningful projects and events. For those interested in visiting ACCE, please contact a member of the team to arrange a tour. The exhibition can also be accessed online through a virtual tour, but the space thrives on in-person interactions and values discussions with visitors. Additionally, ensure you are following ACCE on social media to stay up to date on upcoming programs at the center.
