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The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) has invited renowned scholars and experts in the study and preservation of historic copies of the Holy Qur’an to present a series of public talks and learning sessions at a conference titled “The Illumined Word – Historic Qur’ans: Codicology and Conservation”. |
The conference at the MIA auditorium opens to the public on April 22 and 23 and welcomes a wide audience, including conservators, librarians, conservation students, manuscript experts, art historians and other interested professionals or learners.
The presentations will focus on the art and physical features of historic copies of the Qur’an from Spain to Southeast Asia, and how to conserve and care for these manuscripts.
Art historian Nabil Safwat will deliver the keynote address under the theme “Word as Insight: the copyists of the Qur’an”.
Other speakers at the conference include Dr Abdullah al-Muneef (King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies), Marcus Fraser (curatorial consultant and scholar), Zachary Valentine Wright (Northwestern University in Qatar), Mahmoud Zaki (Institute of Arabic Manuscripts, Alesco), Dr Nourane Ben Azzouna (University of Vienna), Dr Annabel Gallop (British Library), Dr Nuria Martinez de Castilla Munoz (Complutense University of Madrid) and MIA curators Dr Mounia Chekhab and Dr Nur Sobers Khan.
Conservators Wael Mohamed El Said (Bibliotheca Alexandria), Karin Scheper (University Library of Leiden) and Paul Hepworth will be speaking at the afternoon sessions on the second day of the event. They will also lead separate practical sessions on April 23 and 24 at MIA’s conservation lab. Admission to these specialised workshops is by special registration.
Entrance to the public lectures is free of charge. For programme details and more information about how to register, visit www.mia.org.qa
