Join us for an evening with current Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellows Fadi "the fdz" Baki, Ghenwa Hayek (UChicago Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations), and Omar Khouri in conversation with artist and designer Hatem Imam. Along with Baki and Khouri, Imam is one of the co-founders of Samandal comics operating out of Beirut. Coming together as part of an emergent vanguard on the cultural scene of 2007, Samandal comics magazine became a platform for a diverse range of artists and writers experimenting with a new form to create new stories for a new generation. The evening's conversation will reflect on this flashpoint moment and how it informed each co-founder's later work in the fields of painting, literature, film and design.

Baki and Khouri are also in residence with the Gray Center this quarter, co-teaching a course with Hayek and working on their collaborative fellowship project, Redrawing the Arab World, which focuses on the roles of science fiction and comics within Arab cultures and how they might be used to envision different futures in the Middle East. 

The event is free and open to the public. Food and drink will be served from 6:00- 6:30.

Hatem Imam is a visual artist and designer. He studied Graphic Design at The American University of Beirut (BGD 00) and Fine Art at the University College for Creative Arts (MA 06). His work includes print media, installation, photography, video, and painting. He has exhibited work in Carrara XIII Biennale ; Berlin Biennale 5 ; Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury ; Meeting Points 5, Beirut ; Goethe Institute, Tripoli ; Tribeca lofts, New York ; The New Art Centre, Chatham, Kent, and currently teaches design at the American University of Beirut. His work also includes set design, art direction, event organization, and he is co-editor in chief of Samandal comics magazine.

Click for bios on Baki, Hayek, and Khouri.

Related To:

• Redrawing the Arab World