Laila Islam is a curator, social artist, writer, and all-around creative based in Philadelphia, PA.
A selection of curatorial work done between 2019-2022
Printmaking / Photography / Curatorial Projects
The Future is Us Group Residency
The Future Is Us (TFIU) Group Residency is a pilot project where participants and facilitators engaged in somatic pedagogy and Utopic Imagining pedagogy as creative healing practices. A pedagogy developed by Laila Islam and Reva Rutherford, Utopic Imagining is a practice where one imagines, designs, and creates alter-realities that better serve Black and Brown communities. Utopic Imagining is an Afrofuturist method of speculating the past, present, and future, imagining a utopia, and designing technologies that support one’s envisioned utopia. Somatic (soma) pedagogy offers resistance to our violent capitalist environment by encouraging people to assess their bodily relationship with capitalism and how it manifests socially in our interpersonal relationships. Through therapeutic group practices, soma encourages deeper relationships with one's individual body as well as the collective body, ultimately embodying a healing state. Throughout this project, participants were encouraged to create a conscious relationship with their bodies, their communities, and their environment through speculative and imaginative practices. Exercises include group breathwork and writing, open discussions and presentations, collaging, and group art-making that is body-focused and play-centered. The findings generated by–and the works created from– TFIU Group Residency participants and facilitators resulted in a curated zine. This zine, Somatic Utoptic Imagining Vol. 1, is intended for use as a pedagogical tool, enabling readers to use our works as a reference for how communities can collectively process trauma, share knowledge, and create together through somatic pedagogy and Utopic Imagining. A virtual exhibition of the zine can be found on
A second iteration of this project is scheduled to be hosted this October. Follow our Instagram @thefutureisuscollective for project updates
Contact us thefutureisuscollective@gmail.com to join and contribute to this project
Group Residency MTG 3: Black Imagination as a Tool for Survival
Group Residency Facilitator Reva Rutherford shares how Black mythology and imagination has been used as a means of survival and creative expression. The facilitator also shares how we can incorporate these practices in our lives today and leads the group in an imaginative meditation.
Group Residency MTG 2: Soma + Art Making
Group Facilitator Rohaan Unvala sharing a presentation on a more expansive understanding of the body and how we can incorporate somatic practices in our art making/creative practices.
Group Residency Mtg 1: Soma + Collective Liberation
Group Facilitator Laila Islam sharing an introductory presentation on somatic practices and a more expansive understanding of our body and environment.
The Future is Us Collective
2017 - Present
The Future is Us Collective exists as an all-inclusive visual arts collective based in Philadelphia. Through our free showcasing and studio opportunities we give local unestablished artists the opportunity to create and display their artworks in inviting and encouraging spaces. Our receptions and events act as safe and inclusive spaces for Philly youth to enjoy the works of their fellows community members. In addition to our showcases, we partner with established art-organizations. I founded The Future Is Us in 2017 and currently I serve as collective organizer and co-curator. For more information, visit our website.
Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
2019-2021
To effectively evaluate the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s extensive Carl Van Vechten photograph collection, I researched the lives and careers of featured Black American Operatic singer subjects, finding various written accounts regarding the subjects, video and audio documentation of different plays/movies/performances for each subject, etc. The collected information served as a reference for my curatorial team and I to holistically curate a collection of works by Carl Van Vechten that best represents the photographer and the histories that he documented during his lifetime. Through this research, I had the privilege of interviewing some living operatic singers featured in the collection, such as Martina Arroyo and George Shirely.