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Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

Take a deep dive into the themes of the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World  with three introductory talks about the links between William Morris’s designs and the Islamic art that inspired him.

With the exhibition’s co-curators Rowan Bain and Qaisra Khan, and Navid Akhtar, producer and journalist.

The talks are followed by a discussion, Q&A and special curator-led tours of the exhibition.

Timings

• 6pm: Doors open
• 6.30pm: Introductory tour (optional)
• 7pm: Talk with Navid Akhtar
• 7.20pm: Talk with Qaisra Khan
• 7.40pm: Talk with Rowan Bain
• 8pm: Discussion followed by audience Q&A

About the speakers

Rowan Bain is the Principal Curator of William Morris Gallery, where she oversees the collections, exhibitions and public programme. She is the co-curator for the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World. Past exhibitions include Althea McNish: Colour is Mine (2022), Kehinde Wiley: The Yellow Wallpaper (2020) and May Morris: Art & Life (2017). She is the author of William Morris’s Flowers (2019), co-author of May Morris Arts & Crafts Designer (2017) and contributed to Women Pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement (2024).

Qaisra M. Khan has a degree in Law and an MPhil in Oriental studies both from the University of Cambridg, and an MA in Islamic Art and Architecture from SOAS, University of London. She worked for the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and co-curated the groundbreaking exhibition Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum in 2012. Qaisra has lectured and broadcast widely on Islamic art and since 2014 has been a curator at the Khalili Collection in London. She is co-curator of the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World.

Navid Akhtar is an award winning Producer and Broadcast journalist, with over 25 years of experience in UK television and broadcasting for the BBC, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. Navid was a Senior Producer on the 2013 Ramadan Season at Channel 4, producing a series of 30 Ramadan reflections and the first ever-Muslim ‘Hipster’ call to prayer, broadcast on UK television. In 2015 he founded Alchemiya.com, a streaming platform that showcases Muslim art, culture and history. In 2009 he developed and presented William Morris and the Muslims ‘on BBC Radio 4.