Master calligrapher and contemporary artist Hakim Karimzada will discuss his work, on view in the exhibition Herat and Me, in conversation with Dr. Seema Golestaneh, associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

Born in Afghanistan in 1972, Karimzada is known for bold and daring pieces that express his own experience of migration. For him, calligraphy celebrates his beloved hometown of Herat and through it he introduces the ancient culture and civilization of its people.

Dr. Golestaneh’s research is situated at the nexus of anthropology and religious studies. Her current project investigates the dreams and aspirations of Afghan intellectuals in the late 1980s and ’90s for forms of government and collectivity that did not come to pass.

Support for this program was provided by the Stoikov Asian Art Lecture Fund.