December 12, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Karim Rashid, a leading figure in product and interior design, is the 2008 Pauline Ireland Visiting Artist, according to Erin Wright, chairman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Art and Art History.

Rashid will speak at UAB at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in the UAB Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall, 950 13th St. S. A private dinner party with Rashid will be held to benefit the department. For details call 205-934-4941.

Rashid is a leading figure in product and interior design, fashion, furniture, lighting and art. Born in Cairo and raised in Canada, Rashid now practices in New York. He is best known for bringing his democratic design sensibility to the masses.

Designing for an impressive array of clients from Nambe to Prada, Miyake to Method, Dirt Devil to Target, Rashid is radically changing the aesthetics of product design and the very nature of consumer culture. He has had some 2,000 objects put into production. Rashid immersed himself in the world of architecture and interiors with his design of the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and Semiramis hotel in Athens.

Rashid was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. Other awards include the 2004 A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction from his alma mater, Carleton University, 2002 ID Magazine Annual Design Review Best of Category and 2003 Best Retail Store in the United States. His work is in the permanent collections of 14 museums worldwide including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He exhibits art in various galleries. Rashid was an associate professor of industrial design for 10 years and is now a frequent guest lecturer at universities, tradeshows and conferences globally.

Past Ireland Visiting Artists at UAB include filmmaker and artist John Waters and performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson.