The word tarīqah in Arabic translates into English as a pathway or route. In addition to its more literal reference as a physical path leading to a destination, tarīqah can also be used to describe a method to achieve a particular result. In this way, the term encompasses both the path and the process involved in reaching a destination or outcome. References to tarīqah often appear in Islamic tradition to describe an individual’s inner spiritual journey attained through the performance of certain practices.

A spiritual pathway may not be visible and requires an intuitive understanding of a surrounding environment, both internally and externally. While in Islamic tradition certain principles are obligatory and constant, performance of these principles is shaped by individual expression.

By aligning path with process, the term tarīqah can imply the act of making pathways. Art-making, in a similar sense, can employ these two facets by translating ideas into material forms; carving out a pathway for their expression. This exhibition showcases artists whose journeys of invention concentrate on the different ways of viewing and referencing Islamic tradition. Each artist featured in Tarīqah brings her/his own influences to pieces that are contemplative and constructive.