Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online is pleased to announce its new project "The Futures of Islamic Art: Remapping the Field," supported by a Connecting Art Histories grant by the Getty Foundation. Co-directed by Dr. Christiane Gruber and Dr. Mira Xenia Schwerda, the project will include three traveling seminars to Istanbul (2027), Kuwait (2028), and Kuala Lumpur (2029).

The project is situated within the context of growing and democratizing the field of Islamic art history, which includes an expansion of geographies, a stretching of chronological brackets, a diversification of artistic and creative expression, and an unrestricted experimentation with various theoretical approaches, intellectual models, and technological tools to disseminate knowledge in a free and open manner. It places the engagement with previously overlooked materials--such as women’s embroideries, amulets and gems of various tribes and nomadic groups, photographs, posters, and prints, and diminutive coins and other ephemera--at its center.

We invite applications from graduate students and early- to mid-career scholars of Islamic art—including curators, conservators, and practicing artists—to participate in all three seminars in Istanbul, Kuwait City, and Kuala Lumpur. We especially welcome applications from students and scholars based in the region. The project will cover travel costs, including airfare, ground transportation, and accommodation.

Interested candidates should send a letter of interest explaining why these traveling seminars are important for their intellectual development and how their own areas of expertise will contribute to the group effort as well as a CV and a writing sample (of up to 25 pages) to FuturesofIslamicArtumich.edu no later than February 1, 2026. Applicants will be contacted by March 15, 2026.