This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Despite the knocks that Brigham Young University makes for extreme sobriety and priggishness (thanks to incidents like this: http://bit.ly/yCwhAe), the campus houses a first-class art museum that stages eye-popping contemporary art exhibits.

Now BYU-MOA is making history through its exhibit of "Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture." The museum says it's "the first time in U.S. history that a Mormon institution has sponsored ... a major traveling exhibit of Islamic art."

The exhibit will display 250 works from 50 art institutions around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and the Batha Museum in Morocco.

The point of the show, organized by Sabiha Al Khemir, founder of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, is to inspire positive discussion of Islamic culture at all levels of American society. The show opens Feb. 24.

You can get more information on what promises to be a jaw-dropping exhibition here: http://www.Beauty-and-Belief.com

Glen Warchol

BYU Museum of Art

Brigham Young University Museum of Art, located on North Campus Drive, Provo, is open Monday-Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday. Call 801-422-8287 for information and parking. —

BYU Museum of Art

Brigham Young University Museum of Art, located on North Campus Drive, Provo, is open Monday-Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday. Call 801-422-8287 for information and parking.