Visiting artist Abdulrahman (Abi) Naanseh will be joined by Dr. Yasemin Ipek from Global Affairs, Dr. Bassam Haddad from Middle East and Islamic Studies, and Dr. Lisa Marie Gilman from English and Folklore for a discussion about Syria’s current and historical conflicts, paths forward, and how Abi’s artworks may illustrate these discussions.

Abi Naanseh is Mason Exhibitions and the School of Art’s Artist Protection Fund Fellow-in-Residence. The Artist Protection Fund sponsors artists in threatened countries and places them with host institutions in safer countries. He will share what led him to flee Syria, and the stories and experiences that inspire his Arabic calligraphy artworks.

Fenwick Library Main Reading Room on Wednesday, November 16, 6-8pm

RSVP: go.gmu.edu/naansehfacultypanel

Event Schedule:

5:30pm-6:10pm - View the exhibition downstairs
6:15pm-7:15pm - Presentations start in Main Reading Room upstairs
7:15pm-8:00pm - Open discussion and Q&A

Join us in Fenwick Gallery for a welcome reception and meet & greet with artist Abdulrahman Naanseh! Light refreshments will be provided.

Fenwick Gallery is located in the lobby of Fenwick Library, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA. The closest parking garages on campus are the Rappahannock or Shenandoah visitor parking decks.

Thursday, November 3, 7:30-9 PM
Online Artist Talk

Ellen Lesperance’ paintings on paper, rendered in gouache in universal knitting shorthand, can be followed as patterns to recreate historic garments worn by women activists, warriors, and cultural figures. For the past decade, she has additionally archived protest knitwear worn by the separatist feminists of the Greenham Common Women’ Peace Camp who demonstrated against U.S. nuclear weapons storage in Berkshire, England (1981 to 2000). In 2020, Lesperance published a book of this archive titled Velvet Fist.

Learn more at https://ellenlesperance.com/.

RSVP to receive zoom details

Fragments of Truth: A Shared History by artist and printmaker Justyne Fischer examines the legacy of racism and memorializes pivotal figures and events in American history. Working between woodcut printing and using wood-burning (Pyrogravure) on live-edge wood panels, Fischer’s socially-conscious images offer graphic indictments of systemic racism and ask us to remember both the victims of injustice and those who have fought against oppression.

RSVP for this event here!

Thursday, October 20, 7:30-9PM
Online Artist Talk

Silas Munro engages multi-modal practices that inspire people to be the best versions of themselves in order to effect positive change on society as a whole. He is particularly interested in the often unaddressed post-colonial relationship between design and marginalized communities.

His design studio, Poly-Mode, primarily works with cultural institutions and community-based organizations, which have led to everything from information design of NYC Public Schools, graphics for protesting activists at Housing Works, publication design for Jacob Lawrence, and the identity of an entire formerly predominately Puerto Rican neighborhood.

Learn more at https://www.polymode.studio/about.

RSVP for Zoom details

Performance and offering with artists Jessica Kallista and Meeting Ground 

Mason Exhibitions Arlington

Thursday, September 1, 11:00AM - 5:00PM
Gillespie Gallery, Art & Design Building

Celebrate the opening of Abdulrahman (Abi) Naanseh’s exhibition, Pressure, Movement, Effect! Stop in to Gillespie Gallery anytime between 11am-5pm on Thursday, September 1.

View the exhibition, meet the artist, read our curated list of books, and try calligraphy for yourself!

RSVP for email reminders