Building cultural bridges and advancing design in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Khatt Foundation is a non-profit cultural foundation dedicated to design research and cultural exchange between Europe and the Arab World/Middle East. Its main goals are to:
— provide a platform for cultural dialog and promote better understanding between Western nations and the Arab World/Middle East,
— support the development of cultural projects that promote exchange of ideas, educate, and allow for cross-cultural collaboration in the broadest sense,
— establish a center for information about contemporary design in the Arab World/Middle East (as a resource for all interested across this region as well as internationally),
— create opportunities and networks for young Arab/Middle Eastern designers across national borders and political divides,
— bring cultural projects to a wider public and connect them to the design industries,
— and help in the development of the visual aspects of communication, specifically Arabic typographic design in the larger context of applied arts and visual communication.
Our activities
— Creating an 'Arab/Iranian' design community with a presence on the international design scene.
— Organizing workshops/seminars on Arabic typography and design in the Arab World/Middle East.
— Organizing conferences and exhibitions in collaboration with other European and/or Arab/Middle Eastern institutions on Arabic typography and design.
— Coordinating exchange programs between Europe and the Arab World/Middle East.
— Setting up design research projects that help revive and renovate design and crafts in the Arab World/Middle East in partnership with local industries and designers.
— Facilitating and assisting in research projects on typography and design.
— Providing information through a network of experts, about type technology and visual communication in the the Arab World/Middle East.
— Publishing books, catalogs, and articles about design and visual communication in the Arab World/Middle East.
Board members
—Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès (Professor and designer. Director and founder of the Khatt Foundation).
—Willem Velthoven (New Media Designer. Mediamatic. Amsterdam).
—Prof. Dr. Jan Just Witkam (Professor of Codicology and Paleography of the Islamic World, Leiden University).
—Omar Saif Ghobash (Lawyer, Businessman and Cultural Activist. Abu Dhabi-Dubai).
Advisory Board members
Rami Farook (Traffic Gallery- Furniture/Interiors).
Nada Debs (Furniture Designer).
Nadine Kanso (Jewelry Designer/Photographer).
Grace Yacoub (Cultural/Branding specialist).
Maryam de Ricaud (Linguist and Cutural activist).
