Grant Maker Showcases Islamic Art on the Web

The Rockefeller Foundation is hoping its Web site will broaden understanding of Islamic art.

The New York grant maker is displaying “Modernities & Memories,” a collection of works by 13 different Islamic artists from nine countries, on the Internet. The original exhibit, which the Rockefeller Foundation helped pay for, was displayed only in Europe, and the grant maker is hoping that the Internet will allow a wider audience to view the artwork -- especially people who have little contact with the Muslim world.

“It would have been a shame if it was limited to people who happened to be in Venice at the time the exhibit was up,” says Brian I. Byrd, senior communications associate at the Rockefeller Foundation.

In addition to displaying pictures of the artists’ work, the Web site provides supplementary materials to help viewers understand it. The site has a biography of each artist, as well as a brief explanation of his or her artwork. Also on the Web site is commentary on each piece from an art critic and a listing of recent exhibitions of the artists’ works.

Mr. Bird notes that the exhibit is one way that the foundation can use its Web site as more than an information service. “Instead of just having an annual report and then maybe some press releases, we wanted to do something that was very different,” he says.

To get there: Using World-Wide Web software, type http://www.rockfound.org.