Decolonising the Page: The Visual Politics and Poetics of Postcolonial Arabic Publications

‘Decolonising the Page’ investigates the significant, yet understudied, political role of graphic design and visual culture during processes of decolonisation and anti-imperialist liberation struggles from the 1950s to the 1980s. Focussed on postcolonial Arabic publications, the study is concerned with how their design, visuality and materiality helped articulate political imaginaries, mobilize cross-border anticolonial solidarities and shape new aesthetic sensibilities. While shedding light on the modern Arab world – under-represented in the historiography of graphic design and visual culture – this project also draws comparisons with shared historical conditions of modernity and (post)coloniality in the Global South. The project will build collaborative research networks and produce academic, creative and digital humanities outputs which advance knowledge in the fields of Art and Design History and Middle East Studies and directly benefit academics, creative practitioners and the living communities for whom this constitutes an important cultural heritage of immediate relevance.