Festival Program

Checkout the panels, talks, performances & speakers at The Islamic Art & Culture Festival on the 28 & 29 November.

The program will be held alongside a specially curated exhibition of works by contemporary artists creating works inspired by Islamic tradition.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS

DAY 1: 28 NOVEMBER 2022

Open & Welcome from Bayt Al Fann Collective

& Alistair Hudson, Director of the Whitworth and Manchester Art Gallery

The Future of Poetry – A Celebration (Live Performances from Poets)

Islamic Pattern & Sacred Geometry

• Dr Esra Alhamal, Multi-hyphenate Creative, Educator, Podcaster on Art Illuminated and the co-founder of Bristle and Brush

• Eric Broug, Author/Educator/ Artist, specialising in Islamic geometric design

• Samira Mian, Educator & Artist

• Rajen Astho, Artist & Geometer

The Art of the Written Word - Arabic Calligraphy

• Majid Alyousef, Master Calligraphy Artist and Creative Designer

• Hatem Arafa, Calligraphy Artist and Graphic Designer

• Joumana Medlej, Calligrapher & Specialist in Kufi scripts

• Sasan Nasernia, Calligrapher and Typography Artist

• Soraya Syed, Classically Trained Calligrapher, Artist & Emerging Filmmaker

Digital Art & Design

• Peter Gould, Founder of Gould Studio

• Saks Afridi, Multi-disciplinary Artist

• Ahmed Alrefaie (OwaikeO) Illustrator and Graphic Designer

• Christina Rountree, Designer, Digital Illustrator, and Multidisciplinary Artist

Muslim Culture & Multiculturalism

• Dr. Qayyim Naoki Yamamoto, Assistant Professor at the Graduate school of Turkic Studies, Marmara University.

• Aliyah R. Khan, Director of the Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC), and Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

• Yahya Birt, British Community Historian

Storytelling – Reclaiming Narratives

• Sara M Saleh, Human Rights Lawyer, Community Organiser & Writer

• Ramey Dawoud, Nubian Language Activist, Actor, and Author

• Ausma Zehanat Khan, Award-winning Author

Comedy & Muslim Culture: In the Spotlight

Tez Ilyas, Writer & Comedian

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DAY 2: 29 NOVEMBER 2022

Open & Welcome From Bayt Al Fann Collective

Talking About a Revolution & More

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, writer and broadcaster

The Art of the Book: Islamic Manuscripts

• Dr. Eléonore Cellard, Specialist in Early Qurʾānic Manuscripts

• Kristine Rose-Beers, Head of Conservation at the Chester Beatty in Dublin

• Mohamad Ali, Director and Curator of the Al-Khatt Al-Jameel Private Collection of Qur’an Manuscripts

Museums & Archives: Preserving the Past for the future - Who decides?

• Nur Sobers-Khan, Museum & Archive Professional

• Sadiya Ahmed, Freelance Heritage Consultant and Founder of Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative

• Moustafa Fahour OAM, Founder of the Islamic Museum of Australia

Poetry & The Art of Language

• Taher Adel, Poet & Spoken Word Artist

• Nasima Begum, Performance Poet, Producer and Creative Practitioner

• Sharghzadeh, Translator of Persian Poetry

Artists Talks:

From the Studio

• Ahmet Faruk Yilmaz, Artist & Illustrator

• Shaimaa Osman, Artist & Founder of Salamsanctuary

• Ali Yaycıoğlu, Historian & Artist

The Future of Traditional Arts

• Nagihan Seymour, Artist specializing in Tezhip & Sacred Geometry

• Tehreem Pasha, Artist specializing in Tezhip

• Mobeen Akhtar, Artist

• Fadhila Al Dhahouri, Artist & Co-Founder Global Centre of Islamic Art

• Sandy Kurt, Artist & Co-Founder Global Centre of Islamic Art

The City as Art

• Alex Shams, Writer and PhD student of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, Editor of Ajam Collective

• Rana Safvi, Historian & Writer

• Sara-Ann Knutson, Assistant Professor (Teaching), Department of History, The University of British Columbia

Islamic Art, Tourism & Sacred Spaces

• Zirrar, Writer & Part of Editorial Team at Sacred Footsteps

• Sophie Ibbotson, Chairman of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, Director of the Silk Road Literary Festival, and Uzbekistan’s Ambassador for Tourism

• Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Spirituality and Contemporary Islamic thought at Duke University

• Muslim History Tours

Thank you to our speakers, panelists & performers

READ THE BIOS

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Thank you to our Partners & Sponsors

Bayt Al Fann Digital Festival is being held in partnership with The Arts Marketing Association (AMA), part of their Digital Stage Management service.

Gould Studio is a heart-centered design consulting firm. Over the past 20 years its engagements have included Google, Apple, Greenpeace, United Nations, and a diverse portfolio of projects from senior government projects to Web3 startups serviced from its creative teams based in Dubai, Sydney, Jakarta and Beirut.

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