Natalia Himmirska, associate professor of art, will kick off Bemidji State University’s fall Honors Council Lecture Series with a presentation on how cultural influences have shaped art trends in Turkey.

Her lecture, “Art in Turkey: The Past is Present,” will be held at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer 112 on Oct. 1. Honors Council lectures are open to everyone free of charge.

Himmirska has researched and lectured on Orthodox iconography in Turkey. Her Oct. 1 lecture builds on previous studies with a journey beginning in Istanbul, the crossroads of the world for many centuries. She traces the influences on visual culture in Turkey from the ancient Hittites, Greeks and Romans, through the rise and fall of Constantinople, the coming of the Selchuk Turks and the splendors of the Ottoman Empire.

Himmirska’s presentation unravels the many threads of influence that make up art and brings us to the contemporary interpretation of life by the artists in this large and vital nation.

The lecture is the result of her travels and studies in Turkey during a 2013 sabbatical, which took her from Istanbul to the wild and ancient Cappadocia to ancient Ephesus and small towns where ceramic and weaving traditions still flourish.

About the Honors Council Lecture Series
The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the honors program comprised of 12 faculty members from each of the University’s colleges. Student representatives are also elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.

Contacts
• Kari Caughey, BSU honors program; (218) 755-3984
• Natalia Himmirska, associate professor of technology, art & design; (218) 755-3740

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,000 students, Bemidji State offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate programs encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.