“Awakening the Heart”: Exhibition by Rana Chalabi

2 March 2024

“Awakening the Heart: The Sufi Ceremony of the Mevlevis” was the title of the exhibition of sculptures and paintings by the renowned Syrian-Dutch artist Rana Chalabi in both the maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey and the neighbouring oratory of al-Gulshani that opened on 2 March 2024. The immersive exhibition conveyed the meaning and aesthetics of the Mawlawi Sufi ceremonies of “whirling derwishes”. The artist, who has deep interest in Sufi mysticism, said as a commentary to the art works at the exhibition:

‘You are the universe in ecstatic motion’ – Rumi
´Wherever you turn is the face of Allah’ – Q2:17

At the sound of the Nay (the reed flute) the ritual initiated by Mawlana Jalal el Din el Rumi unfolds. Following the rhythm of Rumi’s poetry al-Mathnawi, dervishes start their sacred meditation: they pivot and whirl. The center is the master and around are the ‘mourids’ or disciples. They turn around him, like the sun and the planets in the universe. Or like the spinning of the atoms in their essence. Everything is moving and whirling in the universe.

‘Everything is energy’: everything is ‘Hayy’: Alive.
Every step of this ceremony: the ‘semaa’ has a symbolic meaning and is multi-faceted.
     Its aim: to transcend matter.
     Its longing: to reach the divine.
‘DON’T YOU KNOW YET? IT IS YOUR LIGHT THAT LIGHTS THE WORLD’
‘You are not a drop of water in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop’ – Rumi

The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a performance led by Radwa Saad al-Din and Hanaa Mustafa recreating a Sufi “semaa” ceremony. The performance, with the female team breaking into a traditionally men-only realm, effected an exquisite dialogue between visual and performing art.

Additionally, in another room in the maq‘ad, exquisite compositions of Arabic calligrapy by Heba Hassanein were on display.

The exhibition was part of a series of events entitled “The Artist and Her Muse: A Legacy of Women” celebrating women artists. Other events on the same day included a handcrafts fair titled “Made by Women for Women”; unveiling of a monumental sculpture “Broken Balance” by Claudia Von Funcke; and the opening of the exhibition “Wearing Art” by Marwa Zakariya.

Social and cultural activities at the MASQ are carried out by ARCHiNOS and its sister not-for profit organisation the Sultan Foundation and are financed primarily by the Drosos Foundation and the European Union.