Avinoam Shalem (born 1959) is the Riggio Professor of the History of the Arts of Islam at Columbia University.[1] He served as director of the American Academy in Rome from 2020 to 2021.[2]

Biography

Shalem was born in Haifa, Israel in 1959.[3][4] He received his B.A. from the University of Tel Aviv, M.A. from the University of Munich before earning a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1995.[3] He worked for the Khalili Collections and taught at the University of Munich prior to joining the Columbia faculty in 2013.[3] He was also a visiting professor at Villa I Tatti,[5] and guest professor at Clark Art Institute and Jawaharlal Nehru University.[6][7] Shalem's research focuses on medieval Islamic, as well as Jewish and Christian art.[8]

In 2020, he was appointed 24th Director of the American Academy in Rome, where he was a 2016 resident.[9][10] He stepped down in fall 2021 and returned to his teaching career at Columbia.[11][12]

In 2022, Shalem received a grant from the Getty Foundation to direct the Black Mediterranean project, which reconsiders the history of the relationship between Africa and Europe by shedding light on African influences on Mediterranean cultures.[13]

References

  1. ^ Rome, American Academy in (4 June 2021). "Avinoam Shalem". American Academy in Rome. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  2. ^ Rome, American Academy in (13 February 2020). "Avinoam Shalem Appointed 24th Director of the American Academy in Rome". American Academy in Rome. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  3. ^ a b c "Avinoam Shalem". Columbia College Today. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  4. ^ Manzitti, Federica (2021-07-02). "Avinoam Shalem, neodirettore dell'American Academy: "Amo il disordine di Roma"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  5. ^ "Avinoam Shalem | I Tatti | The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies". itatti.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  6. ^ "Scholar lecture: Avinoam Shalem, "When Nature Becomes Ideology" | Grad Art". gradart.williams.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  7. ^ "The Invention of the Sacrosanct or 'Sacred Making' as an Aesthetic Praxis - WdW Review - Program - FKA Witte de With". www.fkawdw.nl. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  8. ^ "Avinoam Shalem | Department of Art History & Archaeology". arthistory.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  9. ^ "New Director to give American Academy 'fresh perspective'". www.italianinsider.it. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  10. ^ "American Academy in Rome announces 2020-21 Rome Prize Fellowships". Archinect. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  11. ^ "The American Academy in Rome picks new director, the first woman of colour to lead the institution in its 128-year history". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  12. ^ Rome, American Academy in (18 August 2021). "American Academy in Rome Leadership – Fall 2021". American Academy in Rome. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  13. ^ "The Department of Art History and Archaeology Receives A Major Grant from the Getty Foundation". Columbia News. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
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