12 April 2017 - 21 October 2017
The inaugural exhibition of the El-Nimer Collection, Midād presents over 75 pieces from the eighth to the twentieth centuries, alongside five new commissions from contemporary artists.
The exhibition investigates the ways in which Arabic calligraphy has throughout history mirrored notions of the public and private, the political and personal, the performative and poetic, as well as the literary environments of its time.
Unbound to chronology or geography, Midād explores Arabic script’s development, transformation and diverse application over time and across the world. Beyond the texts they contain, manuscripts, panels, ceramics, textiles and tools are objects that have been redefined by a process of circulation in different social, geographic and cultural contexts of history.
Partners
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Talk . 13 April 2017 - 13 April 2017
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY THROUGH THE EL-NIMER COLLECTION
DR. ALAIN FOUAD GEORGE
In this lecture, based primarily on objects seen in the Midad exhibition, we will glimpse at the main lines of these developments in the Islamic world, from West Africa to China
Talk . 17 April 2017 - 17 April 2017
MIDAD’S CONTEMPORARY COMMISSIONS
RACHEL DEDMAN
Midad curator in conversation with artists to discuss the new work they have produced for Midad, commissioned by Dar El-Nimer
Talk . 18 April 2017 - 18 April 2017
THE GEOMETRY OF ARABIC LETTER SHAPES AS RECEPTACLES OF DIVINE IMMANENCE
AHMAD MOUSTAFA
Presentation of 'The Cosmic Script'
Workshop . 29 April 2017 - 29 April 2017
BIRDS OF A LETTER, FLOCK TOGETHER
GHALEB HAWILA
This workshop explores the fluidity of Arabic script through exercises and experiments with lettering, colors, and composition
Talk . 2 May 2017 - 2 May 2017
CALLIGRAPHY: AN ART IN ITS OWN RIGHT
SAMIR SAYEGH
This talk will address the intertwined nature of Arabic calligraphy and religion, the symbiosis of language and script, and calligraphy as an art that must be understood on its own terms
Workshop . 5 May 2017 - 6 May 2017
TIME REVERSED
CHAFA GHADDAR
The workshop proposes an alternative way of experiencing art, text, and paper
Talk . 16 May 2017 - 16 May 2017
DIALLO'S JOURNEY
IAN FOSTER
This talk attempts to answer questions about Diallo’s life, examining his time and circumstances as a slave in the United States, reasons for his travel to England, and his interaction with both societies
Talk . 30 May 2017 - 30 May 2017
THE BIRTH OF TYPOGRAPHY OUT OF THE SPIRIT OF CALLIGRAPHY
REZA ABEDINI
This talk is a thorough examination of the journey from contemporary calligraphy into typography
Workshop . 3 July 2017 - 7 July 2017
TYPOEM
REZA ABEDINI
Participants are invited to take classic Arabic poems and use them to make a typographic poetry book
Workshop . 8 July 2017 - 8 July 2017
LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS!
KHAJAG APELIAN & FARAH FAYYAD
Participants will draw their own using a variety of tools, compiling the results into a functioning Arabic font
Tour . 11 July 2017 - 11 July 2017
ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY AT THE BASHOURA CEMETERY
ALI ASSI
A guided tour of the Bachoura cemetery to study the history of tombstones
Talk . 25 July 2017 - 25 July 2017
BRIDGING ARABIC SCRIPT & TYPE
PANEL ON ARABIC TYPE
The discussion will be centered around the necessity of building bridges between tradition and modernity in order to create authentic and high-quality Arabic typefaces.
Workshop . 26 July 2017 - 26 July 2017
ART OF ILLUMINATION
NEGIN FALLAH
To discover the art of Illumination and learn its basics
Talk . 27 July 2017 - 27 July 2017
LIBERATING ARABIC
THOMAS MILO & MIRJAM SOMERS
This talk presents a new concept and technology, which offers a comprehensive solution suitable for broad online application, unshackled to specific corporate operating systems
Workshop . 23 August 2017 - 23 August 2017
FAT'HA DAMMEH KASRA
STUDIO KAWAKEB
Kids will be inspired to explore and engage with language and writing beyond speech and text itself
Book Launch . 19 September 2017 - 19 September 2017
MIDAD: THE PUBLIC AND INTIMATE LIVES OF ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY
ALAIN FOUAD GEORGE
The book invites the reader to explore the worlds of Arabic calligraphy, its ever-changing expressions, and its meaning, from proclamations of authority in the public sphere to intimate beliefs about the power of the Word
Talk . 3 October 2017 - 3 October 2017
THE NEW EPISTLES
SAMIR SAYEGH
Reading, book launch and signing
Talk . 4 October 2017 - 4 October 2017
THE BIBLE IN THE FACE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL STUDIES
LUTFI AL-SUMI
Presentation of 'The Bible in the Face of Archaeology and Biblical Studies'
Talk . 11 October 2017 - 11 October 2017
THE DIALECTIC OF THE LANGUAGE AND THE UNIVERSE
ASSEM AL MASRI
Explore the mysteries of the Arabic alphabet and the meaning of its letters
Workshop . 13 October 2017 - 14 October 2017
PAPER & THREAD
KARMA TOHME
This workshop proposes to reflect on the construction of the book as a design object
Tour . 18 October 2017 - 18 October 2017
CURATOR TOUR
RACHEL DEDMAN
Last chance to discuss the exhibition's research and get up close to the extraordinary objects of the El-Nimer Collection
Book Launch . 21 October 2017 - 21 October 2017
NAWA EL-HAWA
MIDAD CLOSING EVENT
To mark the closing of the exhibition: ‘Midad: The Public and Intimate Lives of Arabic Calligraphy’
There are no events scheduled for this month yet.