About
About the Project
“...We created them from sticky clay.”
Quran, Surat as-Saffat/Chapter of Those Arranged in Order, 37:11
Alison Kysia, an artist & educator, experienced years of anti-Muslim bigotry in the workplace. She gave her sadness and anger to the clay to create a series of 99 sculptural pots that represent the 99 names of God in Islam, known as asma al-husna (The Beautiful Names). Each of the 99 pots has its own shape, size, and fire marks, each one unique while also part of the whole. The pots represent the primordial power of tawhid, the Islamic principle of the diversity of all encapsulated in the One. It is precisely this principle, the drawing together of our diverse identities in fellowship, that is the opposite of bigotry and discrimination.
“O believers! Stand firm for justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives, be they rich or poor...refrain from following your own desire so that you can act justly.”
Quran, Surat an-Nisa/Chapter of The Women, 4:135.
Alison realized the power of these vessels to hold the stories of other Muslim women who wanted space to reflect on the challenges in their lives and their tools of resilience within a loving and inclusive community. Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye, a Muslim woman psychotherapist & healer, crafted a unique online retreat of spiritual connection, reflection, and contemplation. Every woman in the project then created a piece of artwork to share a snapshot of her experience in the retreat.
About our team
Visual Artist & Educator
Alison Kysia is the creator of 99 Clay Vessels: The Muslim Women Storytelling Project. She is a potter and multimedia artist who creates functional pottery, sculpture, and socially engaged artwork centering Muslims, Islam, and Islamophobia. Alison was the Director of the Challenge Islamophobia Project from 2017-2019, where she wrote lesson plans and shared them with teachers throughout the country. From 2020-2022, Alison was a fundraiser who raised over $15 million to support activists fighting the criminalization of Muslims and other communities as justification for the Global War on Terror. You can read more about her work at 786arts.com and on IG @786Arts.
Storytelling Facilitator, Mental Health Expert and Healer
Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye is an integrative psychotherapist and founder of the Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing in Baltimore. She received her PhD in Mind-Body Medicine, specializing in the use of complementary and alternative interventions for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. She is a faculty member of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and a student of Sheikh Sidi Muhammad Al-Jamal.
