Please join us for a symposium on Arabic-script calligraphy taking place at the Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC) in Washington DC on Saturday, May 7 from 10am to 2pm.
Organized by the Reed Society for the Sacred Arts, internationally renowned calligraphers Mohamed Zakariya (USA), Davut Bektaş (Turkey), and Nuria Garcia Masip (France) among others, will be in conversation with Islamic art curators Maryam Ekhtiar (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Ashley Dimmig (Walters Art Gallery) and Ottoman historian Emin Lelić (Salisbury University).
Inscribed by UNESCO onto its list of intangible cultural heritage in December, 2021, Arabic-script calligraphy has a centuries-old tradition as the preeminent art form in Islamicate societies, yet contemporary work of traditionally trained calligraphers does not fit easily into present day conceptions of global art. Symposium speakers will discuss their journeys to calligraphy, how calligraphy is supported and collected globally and the manner in which their work is bridging binaries between the contemporary and traditional.
This is an on-site event which will be recorded for viewing later. Symposium space is limited; please register early at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-line-living-legacy-symposium-tickets-271262522507. (The ticket price includes lunch.)
The symposium is held in conjunction with the calligraphy exhibition titled Living Line, Living Legacy which opens April 11 and runs through June 17, 2022 at the Qatar America Institute for Culture, 1319 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. The exhibition highlights the work of Mohamed Zakariya and seven of his students and colleagues. You may schedule a visit at the QAIC’s website.
Aisha Imam, Executive Director, Reed Society for the Sacred Arts
Dr. Nancy Micklewright, Research Assoicate, Smithsonian