Hudson County Community College Foundation to Present Lecture on Muslim Art after 1947 Led by Dr. Beth Citron

JERSEY CITY, N.J. / March 28, 2013 - The Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Foundation will host another presentation in its “Arts Talk Series” on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. That evening, Dr. Beth Citron, Assistant Curator of the Rubin Museum in Manhattan, will be the featured speaker for the program on “The Image of Partition in South Asian Muslim Art after 1947.” The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center at 161 Newkirk Street — just two blocks from the Journal Square PATH Station. The event is free and open to the entire community.

The April 3 lecture has been planned in conjunction with the recent award to the College of the “Muslim Journeys Bookshelf” grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Hudson County Community College was one of just five colleges and universities — and the only community college — in New Jersey to be awarded the collection. The “Muslim Journeys Bookshelf” includes a collection of 25 books, three films and access to the Oxford Islamic Studies Online that was compiled to provide the American public with trustworthy and accessible resources about Muslim beliefs and practices and the cultural heritage associated with Islamic civilizations.

Dr. Citron will lead a discussion on three Indian artists – two of whom are Muslim, and their impressions and responses to the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; and the far-reaching influences of Muslim art on the visual arts, architecture and décor. In her position at the Rubin Museum of Art, Dr. Citron has organized a series of exhibitions that include “Modernist Art from India,” and “Living Shrines of Uyghur China” which featured the photography of artist Lisa Ross.

Dr. Citron was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania History of Art Department. Her articles have appeared in Artforum, ArtIndia and other publications, and her writing, “Bhupen Khakar’s ‘Pop’ in India, 1970 -72” appeared in the Summer 2012 issue of Art Journal.

This event is being supported by a Program Activities Grant from HCCC’s Office of Student Activities.

Additional information on the lecture and reservations may be made by contacting Dr. Andrea Siegel at (201) 360-4007 or by emailing asiegelFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE.