The 2023 Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA) symposium will take place in hybrid format from March 2-4, 2023. Co-organized by Farshid Emami, Assistant Professor of Art History at Rice University, and Aimée Froom, Curator of the Art of the Islamic Worlds at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the symposium will bring together an international group of established and emerging scholars of Islamic art and architecture to present new research on the theme of “Expanding Contexts.”
The discussion of context in the field of Islamic art history has long been dominated by politics, dynasties, and patronage. Recent scholarship, however, has immensely expanded the definition of the context to include urban, sensory, perceptual, social, and global settings, to name a few trends. Covering various geographies and time periods, the papers presented at the 8th biennial HIAA symposium will discuss new conceptual models, strategies, and technologies for reconstructing, narrating, and visualizing the historical contexts of works of art and architecture.
What are the promises and pitfalls of the digital age for reconstructing the original contexts of artworks and architectural fragments? What approaches and conceptions can we take to invoke the context and intimate the embodied experiences of historical audiences for the public in museums, academic settings, and online platforms? How can we use context to expand the global reach of the field and narrate the past in ways that speak to broader audiences?
Everyone is welcome to join the symposium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (March 2 and 3) and Rice University (March 4) or online for a series of presentations, which will engage new conceptual models, strategies, and technologies for reconstructing, narrating, and visualizing the historical contexts.
For more information on registration and program, please visit the 2023 HIAA Symposium website.