nr.66 Dr. Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès | Revealing Recording Reflecting

Long overdue, we are excited to welcome Dr. Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès to our stage back at De Lange Adem. She will present her extensive body of work surrounding Arabic typography and design. Many people in Amsterdam may remember ElHema, the store/exhibition offering typical Dutch products rebranded with Arabic type.In the world of typography, Huda is celebrated for her Typographic Matchmaking projects, which brought together renowned Dutch and Arab type designers to create some of the first successful multiscript type families. Since then, Huda has continued to promote design and typography from South-West Asia and North Africa, through initiatives such as Khatt Books and the , which highlight (female) designers from the region. In her upcoming talk, Huda will focus on her publishing practice and give us a close look into a selection of her major projects.

—

Dr. Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès is the Founding Director of the Khatt Foundation and Khatt Books, both based in Amsterdam. An independent design curator, researcher, writer, and publisher, she holds a PhD from Leiden University (2017), an MFA from Yale University (1990), and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design (1987). She specialises in typographic design research and Arab design history, and is the author of several seminal books on the subject, including two titles in Khatt Books’ Arabic Design Library series, of which she serves as Editor in Chief.Founded in Amsterdam in 2004, the Khatt Foundation is a non-profit institution promoting contemporary graphic design, serving as a platform for designers from South-West Asia and North Africa, and initiating cross-cultural collaborative typographic research projects. Its publishing arm, Khatt Books (est. 2010), focuses on typography, graphic design, architecture, and visual arts from the SWANA region. Committed to bilingual Arabic–English publishing and innovative typographic solutions, Khatt Books works to preserve Arab design history and elevate the standard of contemporary Arab visual culture.

—

This talk will present the three acts in the research-based publishing process of independent Amsterdam based publishing house, Khatt Books. The process includes revealing undocumented design works and histories from the Arab world through primary research; recording this graphic culture in publications, exhibitions and online platforms; and reflecting through critical writing, discussions, and book design. Huda will illustrate this process with a few key case studies, and will focus on the role of book design and micro typography in supporting the content of the publications.

—

Hosted at:
De Lange Adem
Ruyschstraat 295
Amsterdam

—

Supported by:

Typotheque & PICTORIGHT Fonds

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher letterspace.amsterdam