Dr. Nabil F. Safwat

Dr. Safwat received his PhD from the University of London in 1985 with his thesis: The Idea of Manzür, The process of Creating Pictorial Space in Islamic Painting. He has been an Islamic art lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and at the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture, Visual Islamic & Traditional Arts Department. He was author and calligraphy consultant for The Nour Foundation for Islamic Art. He is a renowned art historian and a well published author whose books include; The Art of the Pen : Calligraphy of the 14th to 20th Centuries (Oxford University Press.1996), The Harmony of Letters : Islamic Calligraphy from the Tareq Rajab Museum (Asian Civilisation Museum, National Heritage Board, Singapore, 1997, reprinted in 2000), Golden Pages : Islamic manuscripts from the Collection of Ghassan Ibrahim Shaker (Oxford University Press. 2000), among other publications.

Dr. Safwat is the author of several articles and translations of Islamic manuscripts including a translation of 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Qashani's 13th century Glossary of Technical Terms (translated from the Arabic with Arabic text, Octagon Press, London. 1991), and a translation of Life and Thoughts of Rabi'a a-'Adawiah by Widad al-Sakakini (translated from the Arabic, with an introduction by Doris Lessing (Octagon Press, London. 1982. Reprinted in 1995). He has authored a 50-minute television documentary entitled Journey with Arabic Calligraphy: Istanbul to Washington (Middle East Broadcasting Center, 2003). He lives in Dubai, and works as an author and broadcaster.

Keynote Address
Word as Insight: visual understanding
in the contemporary culture

Language is the essence of what it is that makes us human. In both Arabic calligraphy and typography, the dynamic advance towards readability, visual consistency, and page design, illustrate the constantly changing communication needs in the Arab world. In the religious and the secular domains, from the early centuries of its formation, calligraphy has taken a place of honour in the aesthetic tradition of the Arab/Islamic world. The appreciation of calligraphy required a trained eye and sensitivity to the rich cultural background - linguistic, religious and historical - from which it springs. Equally, it required not only discipline of developing technical skills, but also the engagement of the calligrapher's moral force and personality.

Today the intertwined roles of the fine art of calligraphy and the forceful digital media may appear irreconcilable. The simple, yet highly revered pen of the calligrapher and the machine of the typographer, both have a "technical" flavour, carrying in their tenor suggestions of "professional" artistic processes. The challenging task is finding the intermediate ground situated closer to the world of everyday, and ultimately, the aim is the enrichment and renewal of the medium of writing by which they are animated.