A Sacred Experience

"Ameena, The Osceola Arts patrons loved your artwork/installation. Your work "humanized" the experience that Muslim women go through in the United States. I believe that our visitors walked away with a healthier/human perspective on the Muslim faith and Muslim women. My goal for the exhibit at Osceola Arts was not only to display your talent but to educate our community about the daily struggle it is for people who practice what is considered a "foreign" faith or tradition in the USA. The veil you incorporate over your paintings turns the viewer into the voyeur of an experience or belief that is very personal and sacred. I think middle America is just so used to assuming that we all have to naturally integrate into American popular culture without retaining the ethnicity (cultural and religious) of our homelands or the countries and traditions of our immigrant families. "

- Marilyn Cortes-Lovato, Osceola Arts, Curator