Islamic Art - The Barakat Trust

Join Glaire Anderson for a fascinating conversation about one of great inventors of Andalusia: Abbas Ibn Firnas, who successfully invented a glider plane in the 9th century, and undertook the first known flight when in his 60s!  Find out about this fascinating man, his many inventions, and the relationship between science and religion in Muslim Spain. 

Join Matt Saba for a fascinating conversation about the magnificent palaces built by the Abbasid Caliphs of Iraq.  This dynasty realised that kingdoms invariably rose and fell, and that the longest lasting legacy of the reign would be literature.

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House and the Barakat Trust exploring the arts and cultures of the Islamic World. 

Converging Paths is generously supported by the Altajir Trust and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Education Programme.

May Al-Ibrashy, conservation architect and founder of Megawra Built Environment Collective and al-Athar Lina (Heritage is Ours!), talks to us about the projects she is leading to preserve historic Cairo, putting the community first. May discusses the recently completed Imam Shafii Conservation Project - one of the most magnificent buildings of historic Cairo, and the opportunities and challenges of the growing interest in reviving the historic city.
 
This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust exploring the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

The Making of a Master Calligrapher - Bilal Badat and Seif El Rashidi

Join Bilal Badat, master calligrapher and scholar for a conversation about the meaning of Islamic calligraphy. Badat explains calligraphy not just as a craft but as a means of transmitting and glorifying sacred knowledge.  He shares fascinating on the making of calligraphers  - the way in which the  long training process is as much about spiritual and character development as it is about the production of great art. 

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

Alain George shares his most recent book research on the Mosque of Damascus, an incredible building in Syria that is a living testament to better our understanding of community relations between Pagans, Christians and Muslims during the formative years of Islam.

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

Tim Stanley, co-curator of the blockbuster exhibition 'Epic Iran' at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, shares with us the challenges of putting together such ambitious exhibition, and the rewarding effect it has caused around the public. The show is the major survey on Iranian art history since 1931, and is pioneer by the inclusion of art from pre-history to modern times, evidencing the long continuum of artistic production that the nation has experienced.

Featuring in our new Young Perspectives series, Doğukan Atmaca explores the emergence of coffeehouses in Istanbul, and the way in which coffeehouse culture spread like wildfire despite accusations that cafes were the source of political unrest and seduction.

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

Join photographer and writer Christopher Wilton-Steer on a colourful journey of five months through the many Silk Roads to discover the cultures, peoples, traditions, flavours and beliefs he encountered on this magnificent odyssey.

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

Mysa Kafil-Hussain explores the changes that Iraqi art went through to form a unifying identity across the nation by revitalising aspects of ancient folklore and traditional art.
 
This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

Professor Robert Hoyland takes us on a journey through time to discover the many faces that inhabited the ancient Arabian Peninsula, evidencing a much more multi-cultural and cosmopolitan world than what it is often assumed.

This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by Asia House in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.