THREE Bahraini artists are holding a woodcarving workshop to celebrate the International Day of Islamic Art tomorrow.
Abdulwahab Taqi, Ali Falamarzi, and Taiba Faraj will conduct the four-hour-long workshop from 10am at Studio 244 in Dohat Arad.
The event is organised by the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), a centre under the auspices of Unesco.
Twenty-three participants who have registered will have the opportunity to learn more about woodcarving and using Arabic calligraphy as an essential Islamic touch to any art piece.
“Each piece needs three to five days to complete, but we decided to simplify the scale and techniques so that the participants can finish on time,” said Mr Taqi.
“To speed up the process, we chose Kufi, the easiest Arabic font that can be used in Arabic calligraphy.
“We are excited to hold this woodcarving workshop, hoping that all participants will benefit and enjoy at the same time.”
The veteran artist told the GDN that of the participants, seven or eight of them have shown the willingness to be dedicated and consistent in learning woodcarving.
“The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage is excited to be celebrating this event and engaging the public to be introduced to one of the important elements of the world heritage sites as Islamic arts play a major role in them” said ARC-WH assistant programme specialist Najma Al Sherooqi.
Meanwhile, as the attention on Islamic art is growing, two other artists are sharing their spectacular mixed-media paintings to promote Arabic calligraphy on this occasion.
Sadia Imad, a Pakistani-Canadian artist, started her art journey seven years ago as a hobby, and currently it is her profession. She works with mixed-media, using acrylic paints, and only brushes for creating Arabic calligraphy.
“Arabic calligraphy is pure joy, I love writing Quran verses, names of Allah, Prophets and Arabic alphabet,” she told the GDN.
Bahrain-based Indian artist, Almas Shaikh, who gets her inspiration by beauty and intricacy of nature, said she enjoys experimenting with textures. Some of her works involve customisation of Arabic calligraphy, particularly using Thuluth font.
“Despite not being fluent in Arabic, I am drawn towards the works of some Bahraini artists,” she said.
“Some of my paintings were chosen to be part of Art Attack Krew exhibitions and I had opportunities to participate in live painting sessions,” she said.
“I hope to inspire and revive Islamic art amongst the younger generation by showing them the intricacies and rich history of this art form,” she added.
The International Day of Islamic Art was proclaimed at the 40th session of the Unesco General Conference in 2019 and takes place every year on November 18.
It aims to raise awareness of past and contemporary artistic expressions of Islam, and the contribution of culture through Islamic art to civilisation.
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