Imagine Me and You: A Conversation across Cultures

This event requires registration; see further details below.

Join us for the opening lecture for Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750. Curator Talitha Maria G. Schepers will first describe how the exhibition came about and share what went into the making of it. She will then be joined by three guest speakers, who will each take a close look at a group of objects on view. Bringing together four distinct scholarly voices, this lecture aims to reflect the multicultural representation visible throughout the exhibition.

Imagine Me and You (May 18–August 18, 2024) explores the rich and diverse encounters that occurred between artists from the Low Countries (part of the Habsburg Empire) and the multicultural, multilingual, and multifaith societies of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires from 1450 to 1750. A myriad of cultural, diplomatic, and mercantile interactions took place during this time, either in person or through the exchange of objects, art, and ideas. The exhibition traces these multiple encounters through the world of Netherlandish artworks and their varied representations of the Islamic realm.

Speakers:
Talitha Maria G. Schepers, Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Curatorial Fellow, Division of European and American Art, Harvard Art Museums, and exhibition curator
Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums
Stephanie Schrader, Curator of Drawings, The J. Paul Getty Museum
Yael Rice, Associate Professor of Art and the History of Art and of Asian Languages and Civilizations; Chair of Architectural Studies, Amherst College

After the lecture, guests are invited to visit the exhibition on Level 3 until 7pm.

Free admission, but seating is limited and registration is required. You can register by clicking on the event on this form, beginning Saturday, May 11, after 10am.

The lecture will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Doors will open for seating at 3:30pm from the Broadway Street entrance.

Limited complimentary parking is available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

The Harvard Art Museums are now offering free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.

This lecture will be recorded and made available for online viewing; check back shortly after the event for the link to view.

Support for Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750 is provided by the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund and the Melvin R. Seiden and Janine Luke Fund for Publications and Exhibitions. Related programming is supported by the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.