Faith & Place: Religious Pluralism in 19th Century Northern India

March 18 - April 8, 2015

Aga Khan Museum Ismaili Centre Toronto

Fiona Anthes, Cameron Crawley, Daira Szostak, and Megan Wiles

Faith & Place tells a compelling story about how people from diverse religious backgrounds in India use architecture as a means to materialize their beliefs, bringing their core values into a concrete space which leaves a definitive mark on the landscape. Our planned exhibition explores the people and place within the context of faith in Northern India. We will communicate this idea using photographs from the collection of the Aga Khan Trush for Culture (AKTC) to be displayed at the Ismaili Centre Toronto (ICT), in associationwith the Aga Khan Museum (AKM). The images capture different forms of religious architecture from Delhi, Agra, and Lucknow as take by European photographers in the late 19th century. The exhibition is a project overseen by the AKM as part of a collaborative program with its neighbouring building, the ICT.

The show will feature both original photographs and facsimiles from 19th century North India that display elements of faith and place through the lens of religious architecture from Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, and Jain sources. Our intended audience is adult visitors and youth over the age of 12 from the local multicultural community and beyond.  Faith & Place tells a compelling story about how people from diverse religious backgrounds in India use architecture as a means to materialize their beliefs, bringing their core values into a concrete space which leaves a definitive mark on the landscape. 

Culture Exhibit

19th-century, architecture, Christian interest, colour design, design drawing, floor plan, Hindu interest, India, installation photos, Jain interest, Muslim interest, photography, religion, Sikh interest