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Islamic Art in the 21st Century

Lecture and Discussion Series at Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies to Start May 5

№ 93/2015 from Apr 13, 2015

The second annual lecture series of the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies at Freie Universität Berlin is devoted to Islamic art of the 21st century. Experts from the field of art, museum management, and art history will describe the relationships between Islam, Muslim culture, and modernity as they are reflected in contemporary art. The first event will be a discussion between representatives of the artist collective "Slavs and Tatars" and Wendy Shaw, Professor for Art History of Islamic Cultures at the Freie Universität Berlin, entitled "Contemporary Art and Engagement with Islamic and Socialist Legacies." It will take place on May 5, 2015. All of the events will be in English. They are open to the public, and admission is free.

In recent years museums around the world have renovated permanent collections of historic Islamic art or opened new ones. The works of contemporary artists from Islamic cultures are met with even greater international interest. The market for art dealing with today's legacies of Islam is growing rapidly. The speakers in the lecture and discussion series “Islamic Art in the 21st Century: Conversations” will address the complex relationship between contemporary society and the aesthetics of the Islamic world. The series is being organized and moderated by Wendy Shaw.

Dates and Speakers

  • May 5, 2015: Slavs and Tatars (artist collective)
    "Contemporary Art and Engagement with Islamic and Socialist Legacies"
  • May 26, 2015: Ladan Akbarnia, Ph.D., Curator of the Islamic Collections of the British Museum
    "Islamic Art History in Museums of the Future"
  • July 7, 2015: Christiane Gruber, Professor of Islamic Art, University of Michigan
    "Our Image-Worlds of Today: Some European-Islamic Encounters"

Time and Location

  • Tuesday, May 5, May 26, and July 7, 2015, starting at 6 p.m.
  • Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Lecture Hall 2094 in the Main Building, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin
  • The events are all in English, they are public, and admission is free.

Further Information

Dr. Bettina Gräf, Managing Director, Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-53260, Email: md@bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de

Link to the Homepage

Lecture Series: "Islamic Art in the 21st Century: Conversations"