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Anila Quayyum Agha: Interwoven at Frist Art Museum Photo

Anila Quayyum Agha: Interwoven at Frist Art Museum

May 22 - Aug 30, 2026
Frist Art Museum
919 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203

Anila Quayyum Agha Retrospective showcases the extraordinary work of internationally acclaimed artist Anila Quayyum Agha, whose immersive installations transform light, pattern, and geometry into deeply emotional and thought-provoking experiences. Presented as the final stop of a nationally touring mid-career retrospective at the Frist Art Museum, the exhibition spans two decades of Agha's artistic practice.Born in Lahore, Pakistan, and now based in Indianapolis, Agha draws upon her experiences as a woman and immigrant navigating discrimination, invisibility, and oppression. Her work also addresses environmental destruction and global inequality while incorporating influences from Indo-Islamic architecture, poetry, traditional craft techniques, and the California Light and Space Movement.The exhibition features both intimate mixed-media works and the artist's celebrated large-scale light installations. Highlights include A Flood of Tears, a striking suspended sculpture composed of hundreds of upholstery needles and shimmering glass-beaded strands, and All the Flowers Are for Me (Red), one of Agha's signature laser-cut steel light boxes that envelop viewers in intricate shadows and radiant color.Through the use of beads, embroidery, printmaking, dyes, Mylar, wax, steel dust, and textiles, Agha creates ornate and mesmerizing works that blend beauty with urgent social commentary. The exhibition reveals how her art invites reflection on identity, belonging, memory, resilience, and the shared human experience.

May - Aug 22 - 30