• SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 (San Antonio, Texas)

RAMIN SAMANDARI (San Antonio, TX)
Faces Of Islam
Dock Space Gallery Annex
107 Lone Star Boulevard, San Antonio, TX 78204
(210) 723-3048 | bill@billfitzgibbons.com
Opening reception: Saturday, September 10, 2022, 6 – 9 pm
Exhibit on display: September 10 – 30, 2022
Viewing hours: Wednesdays, 10 am – 5 pm | And by appointment
Contact: Ramin Samandari (210) 861-4325 | magicalrealismstudio@gmail.com
Bill Fitzgibbons (210) 723-3048 | bill@billfitzgibbons.com
Free and open to the public

This project started in 2017, as a continuation of my prior series on Immigration that I began in 2016. Both of these projects are my response to the anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic rhetoric fostered by the 2016 presidential elections.

In Faces of Islam, I portray the San Antonio Muslim community as a microcosm of the larger world of Muslims. I have photographed people of all walks of life, many of whom were transplanted to San Antonio from almost anywhere in the world. I wanted to show that these individuals living in our community are just like anyone else –they’re our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, etc. They just happen to practice Islam as their religion.

By the end of 2019, I had finished the series and was slated to be funded and permanently housed at the Institute of Texan Cultures. However the Covid-19 Pandemic changed all that. In 2021 I received an Individual Artist Grant from the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture, which has enabled me to finally exhibit this series of portraits in our city.