The exhibition comes under the patronage and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to achieve interest in Arabic calligraphy from an important space in the overall cultural project whose originality enhances His Highness’s cultural and artistic vision.
The seventh edition included 115 calligraphy works that varied in the calligraphy included in the exhibition’s work methodology, namely, Ruqah, Naskh, and Diwani fonts. It also included works in decoration, gilding, and digital calligraphy, by more than 100 members of the Katateeb programme, from different age groups, at Al Qasimia University, Sharjah mosques, and members of the General Women’s Union, as well as members of three schools from the Eastern and Central regions, and Sharjah, in addition to participants of different Arab and foreign nationalities.
The paintings formed an aesthetic calligraphic energy that decorated the walls of the halls, and reflected a remarkable visual culture due to its flow in fonts such as Ruqah, Naskh, Diwani, Thuluth, and Kufi, launched by multiple talents with diverse visions for works that carried Quranic texts, supplications, and instructive phrases.
Muhammad Al Qaseer and the attendees toured the exhibition halls and listened to the explanations of the participating students, and the course supervisors, who were professors and specialists in the field of Arabic calligraphy.
Al Qaseer stressed that His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah has turned Sharjah into an open creativity workshop for the arts of Arabic calligraphy, noting that Arabic calligraphy centres work hard daily to extract talents, highlighting that “Katateeb” annual exhibition has opened the way for many talents to make their artistic mark in these authentic arts.
During the tour, a number of professors pointed out that Arabic calligraphy requires great effort and hard work on training to reach these levels, in this authentic art.
Professors explained that the exhibition includes different scripts according to the stage of learning, and they pointed out that the student first needs to know the keys of the scripts, such as the Ruqah, then Diwani, then Naskh, until they learn Thuluth, Diwani Al Jali, and Nastaliq.
It is noteworthy that "Katateeb" programme receives children, and a large portion of students do not have knowledge of Arabic calligraphy, so the programme begins with them from the beginning.
The programme has expanded and is not limited to mosques, but rather, it is currently present at Al Qasimia University, and General Women’s Union in Sharjah, in addition to the Eastern and Central regions, which are seeing a large turnout.
“Katateeb” programme announcement coincided with the coronation of Sharjah as the World Capital of Islamic Culture in 2014, while it was launched at the beginning of 2015, and its courses continued over those years, and the programme was able to educate hundreds of both male and female participants, and it was remarkable that women joined with their children to learn and master Arabic calligraphy.
The programme emphasises the enlightening role in spreading and preserving Arab-Islamic culture, including the culture of Arabic calligraphy.
Muhammad Al Qaseer presented the winners of the third edition of the exhibition’s annual competition with certificates of appreciation in honour of their creative efforts. The participation included 34 male contestants and 17 female contestants, with 14 students winning in the men’s category, including 4 students in the emerging categories, while women won 10 prizes.
A number of the winners are non-Arabic speakers, representing a number of countries, such as, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Tajikistan, the Russian Federation, and other countries.
The competition, in the Katateeb Programme included all those affiliated with mosques and community and academic bodies such as General Women’s Union in Sharjah and Al Qasimia University.
The test texts were carefully selected in each of Ruqah, Diwani, and Al-Naskh fonts, taking into account the diversity in connection between letters and aesthetic relationships between words. It is noteworthy that the duration of the competition is limited to an hour to test the participant’s ability within the allowed time frame.
The competition comes encourage “Katateeb” programme members, and aims to highlight the role of the professor in the educational skill in relation to the length of the participant’s enrollment and training, and to stimulate and hone students potential.
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