Australian Muslim Artists 2026

Dr Stefano Carboni is an internationally recognised curator and scholar of Persian and Islamic art. He has served as Curator and Administrator of the Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Visiting Professor of Islamic Art at the Bard Center of New York University, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the American University in Cairo, Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and CEO of the Museums Commission for the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

His many catalogues and books include The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Ilkhanid Painting (2015); Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797 (2007); and The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Arts and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353 (2002), which was awarded the College Art Association of America’s Alfred H. Barr Prize for outstanding museum publication in that year.

Dr Karen Annett is Director of La Trobe Art Institute. Karen has held numerous roles at La Trobe Art Institute and La Trobe University over the last 15 years, including Assistant Director, Public Programs Coordinator, sessional lecturer, post-graduate supervisor and ITAS tutor.

Karen has been key in leading partnerships across the community and cultural sectors, establishing an artist residency program, and nurturing relationships with key stakeholders in the university and beyond. She holds a PhD from La Trobe University and is also a practising artist, which strongly informs her inclusive approach to learning through visual arts.

Dr Anisa Buckley is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on Islamic law, gender and Muslim minorities, and her book based on her PhD was published in 2019, titled “Not ‘Completely’ Divorced: Muslim Women in Australia Navigating Muslim Family Laws”.

She has over twenty years of experience working with various Muslim community organisations across Australia in the areas of Islamic education, capacity building and Muslim women’s advocacy. She was a founding Board Member of the Islamic Museum of Australia, and is a longstanding Board Member of the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights.

Mahmoud is responsible for the art department and research activities at the museum. His role covers curatorial work, exhibition management, and collections care and conservation.

He holds a PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor in Conservation from Cairo University, Fayoum Branch, and is a casual lecturer at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. Mahmoud has long experience in collections care and conservation science, both professionally and academically, and throughout his learning journey has collaborated with and trained at international institutions in the USA, Italy and Egypt.