09:30-10:00
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
10:00-11:00
Islamic Calligraphy: Aesthetics, Tradition & Morality
Nabil Safwat :: Specialist in Islamic Calligraphy and the Arts of the Book
The susceptibility to beauty of the Islamic people is personified in their calligraphic achievements. This lecture discusses the principles of Islamic Calligraphy, its place as a venerated art, and the moral discipline that underlies it.
11:00-12:00
Arabic Calligraphy & Magic
Venetia Porter :: Senior curator, Department of the Middle East, the British Museum
This lecture focuses on how Arabic calligraphy was used on amulets and other objects made for the protection of the individual and to ward off the evil eye.
12:00-12:20
COFFEE BREAK
12:20-13:20
Enhancing Calligraphy: The Arts of the Book
Tim Stanley :: Senior Curator, Middle Eastern collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The importance of calligraphy within the Islamic tradition has been demonstrated by the magnificence of the other arts of the book in the Islamic world, including illumination and binding.
13:20-14:30
LUNCH BREAK
14:30-15:30
Contemporary Calligraphy
Saleh Barakat :: Founder of Agial Art Gallery and Leading Expert in Modern and Contemporary Arab Art
This lecture surveys the evolution of the "Hurufiyya" movement (the use of Arabic calligraphy in modern and contemporary art) in the Arab world since its beginning in the late forties till now.
15:30-16:30
Practising Calligraphy
Wissam Shawkat :: Artist Calligrapher
This workshop demonstrates Arabic calligraphy, the classic tools and materials, paper, ink, and the basic rules of the art and allows attendees to actively participate in the creative process.
16:30-17:00
COFFEE BREAK