Calligraphy workshop for kids at PNCA held

Islamabad : A one-day Calligraphy workshop by Azeem Iqbal was held here at National Art Gallery of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Thursday.

The calligraphy workshop was specially arranged for the participants of two-month long summer art club.

More than seventy teenage are participating in the two-month long children summer art camp at PNCA National Art Gallery No.10. Director General PNCA Jamal Shah said that the camp is in accordance with PNCA’s vision to bring the creativity amongst the younger generation in front.

He said that children have a very clear vision and are very uninhibited in their art. Many artists have taken inspiration from children and one big example is Picasso for that matter, he said.

Renowned artist, Azeem Iqbal, is among those artists who introduced new techniques of art by using leather, wood, handmade paper, stones, copper and other traditional items. In 1997, he drew a 50ft painting on calligraphy at National Art Gallery Islamabad. He has won several awards in calligraphy. He uses Kufic, Naskh, Nastaliq, Tughra, Jalli, Reeka, Thullus and other scripts with ease.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that calligraphy, a centuries-old decorative ornamental handwriting art, hails from the Greek civilization.

The word calligraphy is a combination of two Greek words ‘kalli’ (beautiful) and ‘graphia’ (to write). Since the advent of Islam, Holy Quran, was written on different mediums.

Calligraphists of that era used many writing styles to transcribe the manuscript of the holy book.

Since then, this particular art has associated itself with spirituality and is the most popular form of design arts in the Muslim world.

After acquiring the status of the noblest of all arts, it has been adorned on the ceiling, exterior, interior and domes of all famous mosques, shrines, buildings and monuments of religious importance in Islam.

Azeem’s calligraphy stresses on the sacredness and spirit of the written word with subjective aesthetics in pure oriental tradition. Using three-dimensional techniques in wood, metal, gold, silver and leather, Azeem creates his calligraphic works with an intense devotion, which goes beyond his passion play as an artist.

Apart from his fascination with calligraphy, Azeem also works on miniature, wood carving, relief work and other mediums to express his creative urge.