Poster for my lecture about the present state of Arabic type in the Middle East. The lecture is part of the Typographic Friday lecture series that is organized by A4 Magazine. Since my lecture was addressed to non-Arabic audience, the question Who is the Arab? seemed like an appropriate title for my lecture. It is a very simple question but a person can write a book trying to answer it. There are so many different ideas and perspectives about the characteristics or identity of an Arab depending on the social, political, religious, national and geographical aspect of the person being asked this question. Is the kafiya a good visual to represent an Arab? Does the kafiya represent the Palestinian cause only or all Arabs in general? Etc… There are still so many other questions that can be asked about the Arab characteristics and the symbolism of the kafiya. When a person looks at the poster, several questions pops up in his/her mind and makes him/her think about the Arab and Arabic culture. This is the aim of the poster.

The lecture took place in the Royal Library in Stockholm.

Kafiya Photo Credits: Noel Nasr www.noelnasr.com
Arabic Text Credits: Fouad Slayman