Events
Ramadan Collections Tour: Arabic Calligraphy and Typography
with Sabiha Basrai
This Ramadan, explore examples of Arabic typography from Letterform Archive’s collection during this in-person, docent-led tour.
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The history of the Arabic speaking peoples of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) is complex—nested in various cultural, religious, social, political, technological and economic contexts. This Ramadan, Letterform Archive invites you to come celebrate the history of Arabic graphic design across borders with our docent Sabiha Basrai.There are a multitude of scripts in the SWANA region—more than 28 languages that use the Arabic script (Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, etc), and scripts like Tamazight, Hebrew, and Ge’ez, that showcase the rich cultural diversity of the region. This tour will focus on the diversity of Arabic calligraphic styles, and show examples of font development that required transforming a once handwritten art into movable type.
Our docent for this in-person tour is Sabiha Basrai. This tour will end at sunset and iftar snacks will be provided.
This tour was made possible by a generous gift from Aslan Graphics.
We believe in lifelong learning for everyone! If the ticket price is a barrier to entry, please contact [email protected] to attend this event.
Sabiha Basrai
Sabiha Basrai is a co-owner of Design Action Collective—a worker-owned cooperative dedicated to serving social justice movements with art, graphic design, and web development. She is a Core Member of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, where she works with racial justice organizers on international solidarity campaigns. Sabiha is part of the Center for Political Education Advisory Board, a member of Race Forward’s Affiliate Training team, and a docent at Letterform Archive focusing on global scripts and internationalism.
Sabiha Basrai has been working at the intersection of graphic design and social justice activism since the late-1990s. She is currently a co-owner of Design Action Collective and a member of the University of San Francisco’s Department of Art + Architecture. She is also a volunteer coordinator of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action and a member of the Center for Political Education’s advisory board.
