VCU, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to present international symposium, exhibit on Islamic art

By Malorie Burkett

RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 25, 2004) – Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Qatar Foundation will present “Expanded Frontiers: An International Symposium on Islamic Art,” Nov. 5-6.

The symposium brings leading international scholars and Islamic art experts together for the first time in Richmond for a series of illustrated lectures covering recent developments in the study of Islamic art.

“Islamic art has significantly influenced the rich diversity of architectural styles in Richmond,” said James Farmer, chair of VCU’s Art History program. “Through this timely symposium, the greater Richmond area will be introduced to the most recent and significant scholarly and intellectual developments in the study of Islamic art and culture.”

In conjunction with the symposium, VCU’s Anderson Gallery will present the exhibition “Islamic Calligraphy from the State of Qatar," Nov. 5-Dec. 5. This exhibit of 19 works will mark the first time it has been presented to an American audience, as well as the first showcasing of calligraphy for VCU’s Anderson Gallery. For more information visit www.vcu.edu/artweb/gallery.

The symposium was conceived by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development; benefactors of the symposium; and the VCU School of the Arts, which operates the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar, a branch campus of VCU with funding from the Qatar Foundation. The symposium also is the result of collaborative programming between the VCU Department of Art History and VMFA.

Distinguished scholar Oleg Grabar, professor emeritus from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., will deliver the keynote lecture. Other internationally known scholars and specialists from the United States, Europe and the Middle East also will give presentations.

Presenters will include Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom, professors in Islamic and Asian art at Boston College; Massumeh Farhad, chief curator and curator of Islamic art at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Sackler Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Robert Hillenbrand, professor in fine art at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland; Gulru Necipoglu-Kafadar, professor in Islamic art at Harvard University; Nabil Safwat, specialist in Islamic calligraphy; Oliver Watson, chief curator of the new Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar; and Mohamed Zakariya, independent scholar, artist and specialist on Islamic calligraphy.

All symposium talks will take place in the museum’s theater, 200 N. Boulevard. Registration is free to VCU students and faculty with a valid ID, $55 for the general public and $45 for VMFA members. For more information, call 804.340.1405, or visit www.vmfa.state.va.us.

The Anderson Gallery exhibit, curated by Mohamed Zakariya, will celebrate the recent gift of the collection by H.E. Sheikh Hasan bin Mohammed Al-Thani to the State of Qatar. The exhibit is free and open to the public at VCU’s Anderson Gallery, 907 ½ W. Franklin St., and will be on view through Dec. 5. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. For more information, call 804.828.1522.