Under “Victory & Calligraphy” Cairo Kicks Off 8th Calligraphy Bienalle
Under the name of the great calligrapher Sheikh Mohamed Abd Alrahman
On 10 October, the International Arabic Calligraphy Biennale in Cairohas kicked off taking over the Cairo Opera House until 20 October.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s one month long First International Calligraphy Biennale kicked off on 1 October, exhibiting artwork of over 200 international artists. Both biennales are celebrated for their inclusivity and diversity introducing new calligraphy and discussing it in the context of technological development and the advent of print calligraphy.
The event is organized by the Culture Development Fund, and in collaboration with the Egyptian Public Committee of Calligraphy whose chairman is the acclaimed Khodeir Al Portsaeedy, sheikh of calligraphers, along with sectors of fine art, and foreign culture.
This year the biennale is held in the same week where Egypt celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 6 October victory, therefore the theme for this edition is ‘Calligraphy and Victory’, and an entire hall will be dedicated to that. It will focus on the literary aspects of the national tone that has been recorded by the cleverest of calligraphers either in newspapers, magazines, or graffiti calligraphy.
There are 175 artists in total joining, twenty of them come from many countries around the world like India, Thailand, and Italy. Various kinds of activities are planned, spanning from seminars where research papers on the topic of “War and Victory” will be discussed, workshops, and announcement of prize winners, including Khodeir Al Portsaeedy’s Prize on the closing ceremony.
