This event is the first in a series of three seminars in Arabic Type: Between Heritage and Modernity, dedicated to Arabic type design and typography, curated by typography expert Dr. Nadine Chahine for the Center for Book Arts.

This evening will feature:

  • Wael Morcos, with a talk entitled “​Right to Left: A Practice​”
  • Dr. Nadine Chahine discussing ​”The Politics of Arabic Graphic Design​”
  • Thomas Jockin, who will be presenting ​”Two Decades of Type Directors Club Award-Winning Arabic Typefaces​.”

For more on each of the speakers, click here. An opening reception will follow the speakers.

The theme of the series revolves around concepts of modernity in Arabic type design, the heritage of Arabic letterforms in the context of current technologies, contemporary Arabic branding design, and the history of Arab graphic design. The series brings together renowned and award winning designers working with Arabic type, both from the US and the Middle East.

Since 1974, The Center for Book Arts has promoted active explorations of both contemporary and traditional artistic practices related to the book as an art object. The Center seeks to facilitate communication between the book arts community and the larger spheres of contemporary visual and literary arts, while being a model organization locally, nationally, and internationally within the field. CBA achieve this through exhibitions, classes, public programming, literary presentations, opportunities for artists and writers, publications, and collecting.

Other events in the series are:

Support for​ ​The Center for Book Arts’ 2020 History of Art Series is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with City Council.