Shifting Scripts

Photo: CSMC

Talks, panel discussions, and workshops: In April 2025, a multifaceted event jointly organised by the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MK&G) and the CSMC explored the intersections of Arabic and Persian graphic design with cultural, political, and artistic narratives.

From 24 to 26 April, the conference provided a unique platform for engaging with Arabic and Persian script from both academic and design perspectives and investigate how contemporary graphic design can be understood within the broader fields of design research and the humanities, with a particular focus on the SWANA region. In addition to panel discussion and talks, the event was also accompanied by two workshops to foster a transdisciplinary dialogue among researchers, students, and designers. ‘Type & Politics’, which was led by Golnar Kat Rahmani, addressed the background, causes, and impacts of negative associations with Persian-Arabic scripts in our daily lives in Europe. The hands-on workshop dismantled these prejudices and negative perceptions. The ‘Arabic Lettering Workshop (Episode 21) East–West’, led by Kristyan Sarkis and Amir Mahdi Moslehi, was part of a workshop series dedicated to Arabic lettering, with each episode exploring a unique theme. This episode delved into the writing traditions of the Eastern part of the Arabic-scripted world and its western counterpart.