The Fifth Biennial Symposium on Islamic Art to Be Held in Palermo
The Fifth Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art will be held in Palermo, Italy from November 9 to 11.
The previous edition of the symposium was held in Doha on the theme ‘God Is Beautiful; He Loves Beauty: The Object in Islamic Art and Culture’ in October 2011.
Co-sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar and the Qatar Foundation, the topic of this year’s symposium is ‘God Is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth: Light in Islamic Art and Culture’.
The symposium is organized by Sheila S Blair and Jonathan M Bloom who share the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Norma Jean Calderwood University Chair of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College.
The three-day conference will open with a keynote address on ‘Contemporary Islamic Art’ by Shirin Neshat whose work was recently the subject of a mid-career retrospective at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which showcased eight video installations and two photo installations.
An Iranian born artist and filmmaker living in New York, Neshat won the Silver Lion for best director at the 66th Venice Film Festival for her film Women without Men.
The Hamad bin Khalifa Travel Fellowship provides financial support to up to 20 individuals to attend the symposium. Fellowships will cover the cost of round-trip travel to Palermo as well as lodging and meals during the event.
Fellows will also be invited to attend special events such as receptions and excursions, awarded a Hamad bin Khalifa Fellowship certificate, and receive a copy of the proceedings of the Fourth Biennial Symposium held in Doha in 2011.
Other than the keynote speaker Neshat, there will be 12 international speakers at the symposium who will be discussing various aspects of Islamic art.
While a set of six speakers will be addressing the gathering on the second day of the symposium, the second set of six will be delivering their presentations on the third day.
The topics discussed will be ‘Light as Image and Concept in the Qur’an, Hadîth, and other Islamic Sources.’, ‘The Symbolism of Light in Islamic Art and Architecture,’ and ‘Light in Persian Painting’ among others.
The first Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art, entitled ‘Expanded Frontiers’, was held in Richmond, Virginia, in 2004.
The symposia seek to explore broad issues in the visual arts of the Islamic world. The first four symposia brought together over 40 speakers to explore a theme in Islamic art and culture.
Source: GTimes
Co-sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar and the Qatar Foundation, the topic of this year’s symposium is ‘God Is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth: Light in Islamic Art and Culture’.
The symposium is organized by Sheila S Blair and Jonathan M Bloom who share the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Norma Jean Calderwood University Chair of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College.
The three-day conference will open with a keynote address on ‘Contemporary Islamic Art’ by Shirin Neshat whose work was recently the subject of a mid-career retrospective at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which showcased eight video installations and two photo installations.
An Iranian born artist and filmmaker living in New York, Neshat won the Silver Lion for best director at the 66th Venice Film Festival for her film Women without Men.
The Hamad bin Khalifa Travel Fellowship provides financial support to up to 20 individuals to attend the symposium. Fellowships will cover the cost of round-trip travel to Palermo as well as lodging and meals during the event.
Fellows will also be invited to attend special events such as receptions and excursions, awarded a Hamad bin Khalifa Fellowship certificate, and receive a copy of the proceedings of the Fourth Biennial Symposium held in Doha in 2011.
Other than the keynote speaker Neshat, there will be 12 international speakers at the symposium who will be discussing various aspects of Islamic art.
While a set of six speakers will be addressing the gathering on the second day of the symposium, the second set of six will be delivering their presentations on the third day.
The topics discussed will be ‘Light as Image and Concept in the Qur’an, Hadîth, and other Islamic Sources.’, ‘The Symbolism of Light in Islamic Art and Architecture,’ and ‘Light in Persian Painting’ among others.
The first Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art, entitled ‘Expanded Frontiers’, was held in Richmond, Virginia, in 2004.
The symposia seek to explore broad issues in the visual arts of the Islamic world. The first four symposia brought together over 40 speakers to explore a theme in Islamic art and culture.
Source: GTimes
