Panel Discussion

Ladies of Letters: Crossing and Connecting Generations

Panel 3/6 of the Revealing Recording Reflecting research project on women graphic designers from the SWANA region.

14 apr 2022

The panel discussion: online (world)

This panel highlights the work of four generations of women designers who have made extensive contributions to the development of Arabic type design and visual culture. It reflects on their process and discuss how society, culture, and technology influenced their design decisions. It brings together academics who will discuss Arabic letters from a historic perspective highlighting forgotten female calligraphers, and invites reflections on the challenges that they face as women working in the field. It discusses the poetry behind Arabic letters as perceived by citizens native to the language and those who observe it from the outside.

Moderated by: Dr. Bahia Shehab (AUC)
With guest speakers: Noha Abou Khatwa (AUC), Yara Khoury Nammour (AUB), and Basma W. Hamdy (VCU Qatar)

Ladies of letters Banner -

The project was initiated by:
Dr. Huda AbiFarès, Dr. Bahia Shehab and Anja Lutz.

Lead researchers:
Dr. Huda AbiFarès, Dr. Yasmine Nachabe Taan, Dr. Bahia Shehab, and Soukeina Hachem.

The exhibition is co-curated by:
Anja Lutz (A—Z Presents) & Dr. Huda AbiFarès (Khatt Foundation).

Guest contributing researchers include:
Dr. Azadeh Fatehrad, Hala Al-Ani, Sahar Khraibani, Fatma Mansour, Sara Abu Ghazal, Noha Abou-Khatwa, Yara Khoury Nammour, Basma W. Hamdy, Lina Ghaibeh, Deena Mohamed, Sara Rizkallah, Dr. Roshanak Keyghobadi, Ghalia Elsrakbi, Dina Benbrahim and Maya Moumne. In addition to contributions made by numerous designers featured in the research.

A comprehensive publication will follow, edited by Dr. Huda AbiFarès, and published by Khatt Books in 2023. 

This project is generously supported by:
Khatt Foundation (khtt.net) @khattfoundation, Khatt Books (khattbooks.com) @khatt_books, The Arab Fund For Arts and Culture (AFAC) (arabculturefund.org)@afac.fund, The Arab Council for Social Sciences (ACSS) (theacss.org) through The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (mellon.org) @acss_org, and A—Z Presents (a-z-presents.com)@a.to.z.presents, and Khatt Chronicles @khatt_chronicle.