Join us on Thursday, January 28th, at 6 p.m. for the opening night lecture for By Design: Theater and Fashion in the Photography of Lalla Essaydi, presented by the exhibition curator Cynthia Becker, Associate Professor of African Art History and the History of Art and Architecture Department at Boston University.

By Design: Theater and Fashion in the Photography of Lalla Essaydi explores the artistic process behind the creation of Essaydi’s carefully staged photographs, which deconstruct and reimagine stereotypes of Muslim womanhood. Guest Curator Cynthia Becker has selected approximately 20 works spanning Essaydi’s career for inclusion in this groundbreaking exhibition. Becker notes that, “This is the first time an exhibition has emphasized fashion and staging in Essaydi’s work …[she] might spend months creating a single garment to be worn in one of her carefully crafted tableaus. She spends hours arranging her models and, in the process, recreates the familial bonds so important to Moroccan women’s lives.”

Born in Morocco, Lalla Essaydi lived in Saudi Arabia for many years and studied painting and photography at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She currently lives between New York and Morocco. Her time in Morocco also exposed her to the nation’s rich history of architectural design and the ceremonial occasions so important to daily life, both of which are featured in her photographs. Learn more about the exhibition here.

Learn more about the event and how to watch here!

This event is part of the Edwin L. Weisl, Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation.