October 2010
OBJECTS, COLLECTIONS AND CULTURES   HIAA Second Biennial Symposium October 21 – 23, 2010 Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. A symposium focusing on the role of objects and collections across a range of traditional Islamic cultures.

Organised by

The Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA)
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Supported by

The Bodri Foundation
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University
H.E. Sheikha Hussah Sabah Salem al-Sabah, Director General, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait
International Centre of Medieval Art
Iran Heritage Foundation
The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
An Anonymous Donor

Convened by

Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and Curator of Islamic Art, Freer and Sackler Galleries
Dr. Marianna Shreve Simpson, President-elect, Historians of Islamic Art Association

Introduction

This is the second in an on-going series of international meetings organized by the Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA) and designed to bring together scholars and students of Islamic art and culture to discuss issues and research projects in the field. The program of the 2010 symposium involves over 40 participants from throughout the Middle East, Europe and North American and features seven thematic panels with formal presentations, six seminar-style workshops focused on individual works of art in the Freer and Sackler collections, and a round-table discussion about the current state of Islamic object and collection studies. In addition, there will be an opening address by Dr. Julian Raby, director of the Freer and Sackler Galleries, followed by a welcoming reception on Thursday evening, 21 October, and another reception and exhibition tour (Colour at the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats) at The Textile Museum, also in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening, 22 October.

The HIAA symposium also will coincide with a special Sackler exhibition: The Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings.

Programme and Registration

The full symposium program and registration form are available on the HIAA website: www.historiansofislamicart.org/portal/default.asp?cat=sym. Please note that the program includes simultaneous workshops, focused on individual works of art in the Freer and Sackler collections. Space at these sessions is limited, and attendance will be on a first-come (i.e. first sign-up), first-served basis, using the symposium registration form.

Publication

HIAA expects to publish the symposium proceedings in Ars Orientalis, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Freer Gallery of Art and the Department of History of Art, University of Michigan.

Enquiries

Email: j.gianoutsos@gmail.com

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