Multiscript Typography for a Global Citizenship

The role of typography as facilitator of cultural exchange and dialogue is often overlooked. This talk will present a historical survey of case studies where multiscript typographic design has played a role in facilitating cultural dialogue and in changing perceptions of the foreign Other. The talk will cover Arabic-Latin typographic design projects from the early seventeenth century to the present, taking the Netherlands as a point of departure and outlining the impact on our contemporary global citizenship.

Program

16.00: doors are open
16.30: Start of event
—welkom by Rob Huisman en Steph Scholten
—Talk: Huda AbiFares, Multiscript Typography for a Global Citizenship
—Question and answer session moderated by Paul Mijksenaar
—drinks at cafe of the Bijzondere Collecties (Oude Turfmarkt 129, Amsterdam)

19.00: end

About Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares

Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares is the founding director of the Khatt Foundation. Born in Beirut and based in Amsterdam, she has lived and worked in the US, Europe and the Arab World since 1985. She is the author of Arabic Typography: a Comprehensive Sourcebook (2001), Experimental Arabic Type (2002), Typographic Matchmaking (2007), Typographic Matchmaking in the City (2010) and Arabic Type Design for Beginners (2013), and has contributed chapters to various academic books and trade magazines.
Huda Smisthuizen AbiFares holds degrees in graphic design from Yale University School of Art and Rhode Island School of Design, and has taught and lectured on typography and graphic design internationally. She is member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) since 2016. She specializes in multilingual typographic research and design and is currently pursuing a PhD at Leiden University and working as a design curator, designer and publisher.