Bridging the Divide between the United States and the Muslim World through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations
Saturday, June 6—Sunday, June 7
NYU Center for Dialogues presents Bridging the Divide between the United States and the Muslim World through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations, an academic, cultural, and policy conference that will bring together approximately 50 artists, producers, religious and community leaders, scholars, and policy makers from the Muslim world, the United States, and Europe. Participants will discuss three broad themes: “The World of the Artist”, which examines artists’ place in the Muslim world and their access to audiences and venues; “Art and Social Commentary”, which considers art’s power to transform as well as to critique; and “Cultural Exchange”, which investigates how to harness cultural capital through cultural exchanges and suggests new arenas for U.S. cultural diplomacy towards the Muslim world.
The conference will blend performance, panelist presentations, and group discussions to spark conversations about how the rich expressive arts of Muslim cultures might re–invigorate relations with the Muslim world.
Participants include:
Nashwa Alruwaini, Executive Director of Abu Dhabi’s Middle East International Film Festival and CEO of Pyramedia production company. She hosts Dubai TV’s weekly talk show “Nashwa” and produces the hit Arabic–language competition program “The Million’s Poet”.
Sami Angawi, world–renowned Saudi Arabian architect who holds a doctorate in Islamic architecture from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Since 1988 he has been Director of Jeddah’s Amar Center for Architectural Heritage. His current projects include the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cultural Center.
Margaret C. Ayers, Executive Director of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and member of the board of the New York Foundation for the Arts. Ayers has served as Director of the Alliance of Resident Theaters in New York and of the New York Council for the Humanities.
Tahar ben Jalloun, Moroccan writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt and other awards. His novels, which include Children of Sand and This Blinding Absence of Light, deal with post–colonial unease, racism, and other social issues. In 2008 he was named Officer of France’s Légion d’Honneur.
Stephen Heintz, President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund since 2001 and previously Founding President of Demos, a public policy research and advocacy organization. Heintz was formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the EastWest Institute.
Frank Hodsoll, Chair of the Center for Arts and Culture at George Mason University and the former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. His efforts to promote film and television preservation have earned him an Oscar and an Emmy; he has also received two honorary doctorates.
Theodore Levin, Parents Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities at Dartmouth College and the first Executive Director of Yo–Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. In addition to teaching, he currently serves as Senior Project Consultant to the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia.
Sharon Memis, Director of the British Council North America. Memis joined the British Council in 1988 and was previously the head of its European program.
Kenizé Mourad, French writer and great–granddaughter of the last Ottoman sultan, whose most well–known novel, Regards from the Dead Princess, traced her mother’s life as an exile in Beirut and an Indian rajah’s wife. The novel has been translated into twenty–three languages and has sold millions of copies.
Zarqa Nawaz, Canadian filmmaker and creator of the hit sitcom “Little Mosque on the Prairie”, which follows the adventures of a Muslim congregation living in rural Canada. Nawaz is CEO of FUNdamentalist Films and producer of the 2005 documentary Me and the Mosque.
Farhan Nizami, Founding Director of Oxford University’s Center for Islamic Studies and Prince of Wales Fellow in the Study of the Islamic World. Nizami is Founder and Editor of the Journal of Islamic Studies and a Commander of the British Empire.
Huzir Sulaiman, dramatist and founder of Kuala Lumpur’s Straits Theatre Company, whose satirical and surrealistic plays have drawn critical acclaim. He is currently Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre in Singapore; he also writes a regular column for Malaysia’s The Star newspaper.
Participation in this conference is by invitation only. The opening session, June 6 at 9am, will be open to the public via email to info[at]centerfordialogues.org.
