Teaching Art of the Middle East and Islamic World
Kathy Zarur, Artistic Director
de Young Museum & San Francisco State University School of Art November 2017 |
On November 4 and 5, 2017, educators, artists and curators met in San Francisco to discuss new approaches to teaching the art of the Middle East and Islamic World. This teaching conference was co-sponsored by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and San Francisco State University with outreach from the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and important support from the Spencer Foundation.
Our basic project was to bring new critical approaches to teaching art of the Middle East and Islamic world, recognizing that the history of this discipline has long been impacted by a deeply embedded colonial mindset, and acknowledging that this art history is now set against an urgent contemporary moment of violence and bigotry. We hoped to brainstorm both specific and more general recommendations about how art history education can help bridge understanding, and refresh and renew teaching this topic. The conference was deeply collaborative and its participants included teachers from K12, higher education, museum curators and educators, artists, and scholar/specialists. The first day at the de Young Museum introduced topics of historical architecture, contemporary art and fashion with presentations, discussions and Q&A. The second day at San Francisco State University hosted further discussions focused on making recommendations. |
Zones of Representation: Photographing Contested Landscapes // Symposium, Performance, Film Screenings and Photo Exhibition
Organized by Kathy Zarur, Makeda Best and Bridget Gilman
SF Camerawork April 2016 |
Contemporary global events and phenomena continue to shape visual interpretations of economic, social, environmental, and political geographies, and to disrupt conceptions of region, nation, citizenship, and community. "Zones of Representation" considers how photographers and time-based media artists have responded to transformations in the global landscape through new ideas about the function of photographic media, and the shifting roles of makers and audiences. We want to know: how can novel visual practices disrupt traditional narratives of spatial representation?; in what unique ways do artists in time-based media acknowledge and respond to the historical contribution of their medium in defining, producing, and perpetuating these same narratives?; what new connections do these practices demonstrate and reveal?; and, in what ways do contemporary technologies, modes of distribution, and access impact interactions with the land?
The symposium and pop up exhibition was organized by Makeda Best (California College of the Arts), Bridget Gilman (Santa Clara University), and Kathy Zarur (California College of the Arts & San Francisco State University). It was presented in collaboration with SF Camerawork and is co-sponsored by the Northern California Art Historians (NCAH), a College Art Association affiliated society. |