“Families of Abraham” is a photographic narrative exhibit of 180 photos.  It features 11 families, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim who were selected to participate in one year of photography of their day-to-day life and faith traditions.  Voted top exhibit of the year in 2006, the exhibit began at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, NC and drew in 31,000 visitors from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds during its time there. 

The curator, Eleanor Brawley, a photographer and poet of Charlotte, NC said that “what triggered her idea for this project was the knowledge that nearly half of humanity are Jews, Christians, or Muslims and claim the same ancestor—Abraham.”  Brawley said, “Through the eyes of these families we explore what we have in common in today’s world.”  IIMA will be the sixth venue to host the exhibit.  Recently, the University of Wisconsin and Edgewood College at Madison hosted the exhibit, followed by Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC.

Mr. Muataz Malik, the President and founder of The International Islamic Museum of America said, “When we heard about the exhibit, Families of Abraham, opening at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, we traveled up to see it.  It was there that we knew it was the exhibit we wanted for our opening because the aims and intent of the exhibit are similar to those of our museum- to provide greater understanding and opportunities for dialogue between people of faith.”

The photographers captured faith events—wedding celebrations, worship, and also the rhythms of day-to-day life, major holy days such as Yom Kippur in the Jewish tradition, the Christian Easter observance, and the month long Muslim Ramadan fast from sunrise to sunset.  Photographers also captured the Bar mitzvah of a young Jewish boy and the greeting of a newborn Muslim baby as the father whispers the Call to Prayer in the infant’s ear. 

Written by Eleanor Brawley, Curator, "Families of Abraham" Exhibit