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Intricate art of calligraphy brought to life
Reporter: Usma Raja
Date online: 07 September 2009
OLDHAMERS got the chance to master an exquisite kind of art rarely seen outside mosques.
Naveed Aziz, ethnic minorities services officer at the Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre, invited Agha Nisar Ali Khan, from Pakistan, to run Islamic calligraphy workshops.
The poet and artist works in a diversity of themes and techniques and has several national and international solo exhibitions based on Islamic calligraphy to his credit.
He has modernised the water colour calligraphy art and gave more than 90 visitors a chance to learn the special Arabic art.
Mr Aziz said: “Agha demonstrated basic calligraphy to the guests who were mainly from the Muslim faith.
“He had displayed between 40 to 50 examples of his work in the performance space. It was the first time we ran such a workshop in Oldham.
“Many people got to see for themselves the work created by Agha and loved to watch. We will be organising more Islamic calligraphy events at the library.”
Islamic calligraphy is the art of artistic handwriting and is especially revered among Islamic arts since it was the primary means for the preservation of the holy Qur’an.
Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art — the Arabesque — on the walls and ceilings of mosques across the world.
Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work.
Comments
This is not wasted money, it is a form of art. A lot of art is displayed at this library/centre, give me one good reason why not this one?
All forms of art only ever appeals to a small minority, not being able to speak English (another myth) should not exclude anybody from enjoying this form of art.
These people are also "paying his wages" you're not the only one!!
Why does the library need an employee to serve ethnic minorities? Why specifically Islamic calligraphy?
Simply compounds the divisions between groups in the town and encourages these to be entrenched at council taxpayers expense.
Disability, yes. Ethnicity, no.
Have Your Say
Being as we are paying the wages of an ethnic minorities services officer at the Oldham Library, why not use him to promote something that would help EMs read and speak english instead. It would be more beneficial for all of us. This is wasted money.
By sick and tired @ 07/09/2009 16:20:30