VCU Qatar hosts Islamic Art Symposium

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar will host scholars from around the world for the Second Biennial Hamad Bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art to be held from Nov. 4-6.

The theme of this year’s symposium, “Rivers of Paradise: Water in Islamic Art and Culture,” examines the role of water in Islamic lands from southern Europe to South Asia. Topics range from water supply and distribution to its role in religion and popular culture, from the earliest times to the present, from the Iberian Peninsula to Southeast Asia.

Sheila S. Blair, Ph.D., and Jonathan M. Bloom, Ph.D., shared holders of the Hamad Bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at VCU, are the symposium’s organizers. Blair and Bloom are widely recognized as being among the leading scholars of Islamic art in the world.

“This symposium is a wonderful opportunity to bring together the scholars and the general public to explore various aspects of the art and architecture of the Islamic lands,” Bloom said. “All too often academics speak only to the other academic in a language that ordinary people cannot readily understand. This symposium is a major exception since it brings together a stellar roster of scholars from around the world who are not only great experts in their respective disciplines but also engaging speakers who can communicate what they know to a broad audience.”

The symposium serves as an important contribution to Qatar’s cultural efforts. VCU Qatar hopes the event will help stimulate a wider awareness of the artistic marvels of Islamic civilization. Islamic art has long fascinated the Western audience and remains a popular subject, as scholars continue to debate whether it is meant to provide only visual delight or contains deeper meaning.

The symposium’s setting of Education City in Doha, Qatar, is fitting. Doha is one of the fastest-growing centers of Islamic art in the Middle East. Several museums are in development in the city, including the Museum of Islamic Art, which is designed by the renowned architect I.M. Pei.

“We are extremely proud to be hosting a symposium of this caliber here at VCU Qatar,” said Allison Vanstone, dean of VCU Qatar.

Those attending the symposium will represent a diverse group of cultural and professional backgrounds. The symposium’s 12 speakers represent nine different countries and include art historians, archaeologists, conservators, architects and curators.

The keynote speaker of this year’s symposium is Carole Hillenbrand, professor of Islamic History and head of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Hillenbrand, a recent recipient of the King Faisal Prize for Islamic Studies, is speaking on the roles of water in the Quran, Islamic history and literature.

“In selecting the speakers, we looked for a range of scholars to address this global issue,” Blair said. “Some are senior scholars, others are relatively young, but all are experts in their respective fields.”

VCU School of the Arts, which co-hosts the symposium with VCU School of the Arts in Qatar, received more than 300 applications from 62 countries for the symposium’s available fellowships. Applicants represented four continents (Africa, Asia, Europe and North America) and ranged from graduate students in their early 20s to senior scholars in their 60s and 70s. The 15 recipients selected for the fellowship are citizens of Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, India, Iran, Russia, Spain, Sudan, Turkey, Yemen and the United States.
 
A complete list of speakers and fellows for the “Rivers of Paradise” symposium, as well as online registration, is available at http://www.islamicartdoha.org. The symposium will be held in 2009 on VCU’s campus in Richmond, Va.