Lina Ali - New IMMC Deputy Executive Director

Lina Ali, IMMC Deputy Executive Director, 2019

The International Museum of Muslim Cultures Announces Award-winning Exhibition Director and Cultural Curator Lina Ali as New Deputy Executive Director.

Lina Ali is not new to IMMC, she has been a part of the museum family since 2014 and has served as a museum consultant and guest curator before becoming a board member. Ali has been instrumental in the research and design development of IMMC’s “most important work”, the Covenants and Coexistence exhibition, according to museum co-founder Mrs. Okolo Rashid. Increasing the museum’s national reach and diversifying its activities is important for Ali as she plans to expand the museum’s art collection and programming. She will also initiate a preservation and interpretation plan for the museum’s unique collection of historic Timbuktu manuscripts.

Ali has diverse international experience in curatorial services, creative direction, museum branding, and communication, as well as exhibition design and development, and cultural production projects. Prior to joining IMMC, Ali worked on creative projects with the British Council, the Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia, the Islamic Arts Museum of Australia, the Bait Al Zubair Museum, and the Royal Arts Society of Oman, as well as with many individual artists.

“Lina brings a wide range of creative talent and professional museum expertise to the IMMC, we are very proud to have her take on this new role and we look forward to the wonderful programming she will bring to the museum”. Mr. Emad Al-Turk, IMMC Co-founder.

Lina is the co-founder of the Spirit of Ramadan, a photography initiative that shares the beauty of Islamic culture, architecture, and spirituality through social media and crowdsourcing. The Spirit of Ramadan is believed to be one of the world's largest modern collections of Islamic-themed photographs from over 60 countries. She has curated an award-winning exhibition that has traveled to Kuala Lumpur, London, Australia, and the United States.

Lina Ali holds a Masters in Museum Studies from Harvard University. Her research focused on the historic diversity efforts of the Philadelphia Barnes Foundation and AAM’s Facing Change initiative for advancing diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in museums. She has trained at the Smithsonian Center for Folklore and Cultural Heritage, the Harvard Semitic Museum, and the Harvard Putnam Gallery and is a past board member at the Palestine Museum in Connecticut and an arts grants review panelist for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. She holds a Certificate in Arts Marketing from the German Goethe Institute and a BSc in Business Management from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.