November 3, 2008
Reading by Sabiha Al Khemir
Carnegie Library Presents: Sabiha Al Khemir, PhD, author of The Blue Manuscript. November 3 2008. 7 PM. Free and open to the public. Dr. Al Khemir will read from her book and use her personal experiences and academic expertise to discuss the timely topic of cultural bridging between the East and the West. Copies of Dr. Al Khemir's newest book, The Blue Manuscript (Verso 2008) will be available for sale after the lecture.
Sabiha Al Khemir was born in Tunisia and received her M.A. (with distinction) and Ph.D in Islamic Art history and Archaeology from London University. She was a post Doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and has lectured world-wide on Islamic art and culture. She has taught Islamic art at the British Museum, London and has worked as a consultant. She was the founding director of The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar.
She is a writer and artist and her published work includes fiction: 'Waiting in the Future for the Past to Come'(1993), 'The Absent Mirror'(2005) and 'The Blue Manuscript' (2008); cultural essays: 'Mobile Identity and the Focal Distance of Memory' (2004); several publications on Islamic Art, including an essay in "Al Andalus - Islamic Arts of Spain' to accompany the exhibition at the Alhambra and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1992), 'Figures and Figurines from the 7th to the 19th Centuries'; and a catalogue to accompany an Islamic Art exhibition at the Louvre,'From Cordoba to Samarqand'(2006).
Her own art work has appeared in several publications; she fully illustrated 'The Island of Animals' (Quartet Books, London 1994) and several book covers, including Naguib Nahfouz's novel 'Respected Sir'. Her drawings have toured in several exhibitions including, 'Forces of Change' (U.S.A. 1994-95) and 'Dialogue of the Present' (U.K 1999-2000).
She has also written and presented television documentaries.
For more information about this event or the events on October 22 or October 29 listed below, contact:
Elaine E. Linn
Assistant Director, Global Studies Program
University Center for International Studies
4102 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
Tel: 412 648-2113
Fax: 412 624-4672
