Between the preservation of the Traditional and the reinvention of the Modern, panelists and moderator engage a lively discussion, [...]

26 October | 8 - 9pm
The Atrium, Building 4, Dubai Design District (d3)

Between the preservation of the Traditional and the reinvention of the Modern, panelists and moderator engage a lively discussion, introducing what diverse components of their own design contemporary practices and projects qualify as Islamic

Moderated by Dr. Woodman Taylor

The Panel

Manal Ataya

Manal Ataya is the Director-General of the Sharjah Museums Department, which manages 16 museums in the emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The current museum offering includes Islamic culture and history, contemporary art, heritage, maritime history, archaeology, science, natural history, and children's learning. She currently serves on the board of the College of Fine Arts, University of Sharjah and for ICCROM-ATHAR, the regional center for cultural heritage preservation in the Arab region.

Manal Ataya holds a BA in Studio Art and Communication Studies and a Graduate Degree in Museum Studies from the USA. She is a Clore fellow having completed the cultural leadership program in the UK in 2011.

Eric Broug

Eric Broug is an author and educator, specialised in Islamic geometric design. His first book, Islamic Geometric Patterns (Thames & Hudson, 2008), has made the Islamic geometric design tradition accessible to many people around the world. It is also available in Farsi, Turkish, French and Dutch. Eric will be talking about his latest book Islamic Design Workbook (Thames & Hudson, 2016) during his visit to Dubai Design Week. Eric is from Holland and lives in the UK.

Abdul Karim Crites

Abdul Karim Crites is an American art historian who has lived and worked in India and across the Islamic world for more than forty years. His primary focus has been the revival of traditional Indian and Islamic arts and crafts. Over the years, he has participated in a number of prestigious architectural projects ranging from Mexico to Malaysia which have given work to more than seven thousand master artists, carvers, inlay artisans and calligraphers. His projects include the ornamentation and calligraphy for the Federal Territory Mosque of Kuala Lumpur, the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi and the movable minbar and calligraphy for the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah Sharif. He recently collaborated with Bethan Gray, British Designer of the Year 2013, to create furniture and accessories which draw their inspiration from classical Islamic art and architecture titled The Ruby Tree Collection.

Dr. Farouk Yaghmour

Dr. Yaghmour is a holder of a Ph. D., Master and Bachelor degree of Architecture from the United States and Germany. He has established his Yaghmour Architects office in Amman-Jordan, Dubai-UAE and Bethlehem-Palestine, and since then has been focusing on designing diverse innovative architectural projects in various scales.

Dr. Yaghmour has a wide range of experience in traditional to contemporary mosque design, renovation, re-use and rehabilitation of old buildings with distinguished historical backgrounds. He has contributed immensely in creating public awareness towards historical, cultural and urban sites, and supported the public's participation in generating specific solutions. Most notably, Dr. Yaghmour isthe lead architect behind the distinctive Spine mosque on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE.

Dr. Woodman Taylor

Having initially worked with the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and subsesquently as a curator of South Asian and Islamic art at the Harvard Art Museums and then at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Dr. Taylor has a long history of engaging with art and architecture created by communities throughout the world of Islam. Professor Taylor now teaches at the American University in Dubai, where he chairs the Department of Visual Communication and is founding convener of the AUD Visual Cultures Forum.