Shifting Scripts

Poster design by Amir Mahdi Moslehi

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Organizers: Dr Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Dr Wibke Schrape, Professor Dr Shervin Farridnejad, Jasmin Holtkötter 

The conference ‘Shifting Scripts: Contemporary Arabic and Persian Graphic Design’ examines Arabic and Persian typographic design from SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) and its diasporas within the broader academic framework of script studies. The event is organized by the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at the University of Hamburg and the Khatt Foundation. It is held in conjunction with the exhibition ‘Inner Structures – Outer Rhythms: Contemporary Arab and Persian Graphic Design’, currently on view at MK&G.

Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, are home to a variety of scripts with a rich calligraphic tradition, in particular Arabic and Persian. This has profoundly influenced several forms of typographic design in this region, with designers often drawing inspiration from historical manuscripts, calligraphic styles, and cultural identities. They create and use typefaces to communicate powerful messages, stimulate collective action, uphold cultural heritage, and challenge cultural norms.

Focusing on typography as a script-based practice, ‘Shifting Scripts: Contemporary Arabic and Persian Graphic Design’, will explore the intersections of Arabic and Persian graphic design with cultural, political, and artistic narratives. The conference will provide a unique platform for engaging with Arabic and Persian script from both academic and design perspectives, and will investigate how contemporary graphic design can be understood within the broader fields of design research and the humanities, with a particular focus on the SWANA region.

The two-day panel discussions are accompanied by two workshops. The workshop aims to foster a transdisciplinary dialogue among researchers, students, and designers. Invited designers and researchers will have the chance to introduce their work and share their expertise on Arabic and Persian graphic design. It will also provide a platform for students of manuscript cultures, as well as design students and researchers, to actively participate. Through presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, the workshop will significantly contribute to the academic discourse on graphic design, bridge disciplines, and foster academic dialogue.

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Program

9:30 AM:
Panel 1: Beyond Calligraphy
Chair: Shervin Farridnejad

Moving beyond calligraphic forms, this session explores innovative approaches in contemporary graphic design that reimagine and expand upon calligraphy. Presentations and discussions will focus on the engagement with historic scripts, showcasing how designers blend cultural legacies with contemporary aesthetics to create novel visual languages.

Heritage and Innovation: Contemporary Arabic Type Design
Kristyan Sarkis

From Calligraphy to Type Design: Purpose and Process
Amir Mahdi Moslehi

The Case for a Typographic Kufi
Lara Assouad

Historical Scripts Between Cultural Legacy and Academic Research: A Kufic Type Design Project
Alba Fedeli

11:30 AM: Coffee Break

12:00 PM: 
Panel 2: Rhythm in Music, Poetry, and Script
Chair: Yasemin Gökpinar

This session explores the synergetic relationship between graphic design, music and poetry. Discussions will consider how visual rhythms and patterns in graphic design are inspired by and reflect the auditory rhythms found in music and the metric structures of poetry, particularly within Arab and Persian traditions.

The Musical Enchantment of Hafez’s Poetry
Asghar Seyed-Gohrab

Curves and Cadence: The Intersection of Iranian Calligraphy, Music, and Poetry
Kourosh Beigpour

The Synergistic Relationship Between Rhythm in Poetry and Music and Its Representation in Graphic Design (in Persian)
Amir Karimian

1:30 PM: Lunch Break

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2:30 - 6:30 PM:
Workshop 1: Type and Politics
Golnar Kat Rahmani
Venue: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MK&G), Steintorplatz 1, 20099 Hamburg

In this workshop, Golnar Kat Rahmani will present her project Type & Politics. She will address the background, causes, and impacts of negative associations with Persian-Arabic scripts in our daily lives in Europe. The hands-on workshop intends to dismantle these prejudices and negative perceptions.
In the practical part, participants will learn about the principles of Persian-Arabic scripts, create their own graphics, and print them on fabric. The aim is to spark curiosity, appreciation for aesthetics, and enjoyment of Persian-Arabic scripts. This workshop seeks not only to inspire creativity but also to foster intercultural friendships and contribute to overcoming prejudices against these scripts in society.

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Saturday 26 April 2025

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM:
Workshop 2: Arabic Lettering Workshop (Episode 21) East–West
Kristyan Sarkis and Amir Mahdi Moslehi
Venue: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MK&G), Steintorplatz 1, 20099 Hamburg

Arabic Lettering Workshop (ALW) is a series of workshops dedicated to Arabic lettering, with each episode exploring a unique theme. In this episode, Amir will delve into the writing traditions of the Eastern part of the Arabic-scripted world, while Kristyan will focus on its western counterpart.
Through two introductory talks, participants will gain an immersive understanding of the heritage, forms, and mechanics of the Arabic script. They will then have the opportunity to create a lettering piece based on one of the quintessential writing styles from either side—Ruqaa or Nastaliq. A series of guided exercises will allow them to explore the defining characteristics of the Arabic script and its letterforms and manipulate them to create specific expressions.

* ALW is a project by Khajag Apelian, Wael Morcos, and Kristyan Sarkis. This episode will be hosted in collaboration with Amir Mahdi Moslehi.

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Venue: Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC),
Warburgstraße 26, 20354 Hamburg

2:00 – 4:00 PM:
Panel 3: Typography as Cultural Engagement
Chair: Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès

This session examines the role of typography in driving cultural change and community movements. Designers create and/or use typefaces to communicate powerful messages, inspire collective action, uphold cultural heritage, and challenge cultural norms. The discussion will focus on how typography serves as a tool for advocacy and for shaping public conversations. By combining local and digital graphic traditions, designers strengthen their messages and enhance their impact.

Persian Design And Typography Movement
Iman Raad

The Language of Connection: Activating Communities through Arabic Letters
Bahia Shehab

TypoTales
Walid Bouchouchi

Typography Across Cultures: Tracing Iranian Newspaper Typefaces to Their Multicultural Origins
Borna Izadpanah

4:00 PM: Coffee Break

4:30 – 6:30 PM:
Panel 4: Graphic Design in the Cultural Sphere
Chair: Jasmin Holtkötter 

This session will focus on graphic design in the cultural and art scene in SWANA. Contemporary designers engage with and contribute to the broader cultural landscape, thereby also promoting it internationally through their works.Topics include the mutual relation between cultural narratives and graphic design in the promotion of cultural events and institutions, as well as the complexity of bilingual graphic design often encountered in posters.

A Critical and Creative Design History
Jana Traboulsi

Graphic Design for Art and Culture in Iran
Aria Kasaei

Type & Practice in Diaspora
Golnar Kat Rahmani

The Multilingual Moment
Hatem Iman

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Registration Required
Click on this link for registration and further information

Event supported by MK&G Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures: Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefact, The Khatt Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kingdom of the Netherlands.