Islamic Art Historians gather at AUC to discuss “Historicisms in Islamic Art”
Held for the first time in Cairo, the 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology took place at The American University in Cairo, Tahrir Campus.
By Nouran Ahmed Rabie, ARIC MA candidate
Held for the first time in Cairo, the 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology took place at The American University in Cairo, Tahrir Campus, from July 3–6, 2025. This four-day international gathering brought together scholars, researchers, and cultural practitioners from all over the world to explore the theme: “Historicism in Islamic Art: Narratives, Materials, and Perspectives.”
Co-organized by the Sheikh Hassan Abbas Sharbatly Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations (ARIC) at AUC, the German Archaeological Institute Cairo (DAI), and the Ernst Herzfeld Society (EHG), the event featured a keynote panel, over 30 local and international scholarly papers, and a curated photo exhibition, Through Meinecke’s Lens: Cairenes and Cairo of the 1970s, presented in collaboration with the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin.
The 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society invited recent research on historicism in Islamic art that examines how historical awareness has shaped artistic production in different periods and regions. The conference aimed to explore the different categories of historicism in Islamic Art and the role of historiography and Islamic material cultural production in shaping narratives. It explored the different ways historicism has shaped narratives, media, and discourses surrounding Islamic art, while also analyzing its contemporary production. The concept of historicism in Islamic art, which involves the conscious use and sometimes revival and reinterpretation of historical forms and styles, offered an interesting angle to explore the evolution and continuity of Islamic artistic traditions. The organizers aimed to bring together and encourage dialogue between art historians, archaeologists, cultural historians, and practitioners, and to highlight the need for the preservation and promotion of the Islamic artistic heritage in contemporary times. Scholars from Egypt, the US, the UK, Canada, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Spain, Austria and Germany took part in the 12 panels of the colloquium.
The program also included a graduate meeting dedicated to research by graduate and PhD students, where two of ARIC’s graduate students presented papers. In addition, on day two, participants visited the historic house Bayt Yakan in al-Darb al-Ahmar, where they were able to walk through the premises and learn about its layered history and conservation project as well as enjoy a traditional Egyptian meal prepared by members of a local community kitchen. Day four was dedicated to on-site discussions of historicism in Historic Cairo, visiting monuments and sites from Bab al-Futuh to the mosque of Sultan Hassan.
The public event garnered a lot of attendance both online and in person from within and without the AUC community, especially the keynote panel, which featured prominent speakers from the world of Islamic art and architecture Sussan Babaie, Marcus Milwright, May al-Ibrashy, Dina Bakhoum and Seif El-Rashidi. The keynote panel discussion set the tone for the rest of the conference. Overall, the conference provided an excellent opportunity for our students to engage with local and international scholars within the broader theme of historicism. It also brought local academics in contact with international scholars from all over the world. The conference proceedings are expected to be published in a volume of the society’s Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie BIKA (Contributions to Islamic Art and Archaeology).