Join us for a special lecture by Professor Richard Ellis highlighting the exotic architecture of Tampa's most iconic building. In the Shadow of the Crescent: The Tampa Bay Hotel & Islamic Architecture will address features of the historic building that were borrowed from architectural precedents of the Islamic world. This presentation seeks to illuminate the significance of these borrowed forms in their original contexts, trace their route through the output of Orientalist scholars, and explore their potential to hold meaning in their new context.

Richard Ellis is an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, in the Department of Art & Design, and at the University of South Florida, in the School of Art & Art History. He holds a BA and MA, both in art history and from the University of South Florida. His areas of interest include Islamic art and architecture, modern and contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa, and Orientalism.

This lecture is offered in conjunction with our exhibit Imagined East: Decorative Arts and the Imperial Gaze, which runs until August 20, 2023.