The forum's activities will be held at several cultural and artistic sites in the Emirate of Sharjah, including the Calligraphy Square, Sharjah Art Museum, Beit Al Hikmah, Sharjah University of the Arts, and the 1971 Design Center, in addition to other sites.
Jordan among participating countries
The current session highlights Jordan's participation among the list of Arab countries participating in the forum, alongside the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, as well as participants from Italy, Tajikistan, Sweden, China, Canada, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Germany, Turkey, and Indonesia.
The organizers of the forum did not provide, in the details of the press conference, the names of the participating Jordanian artists or the nature of the Jordanian works participating.
681 artistic works and 93 events
Al-Qasimi said that the 12th session is held under the slogan 'Balance' and its activities extend for more than 45 days, and include 93 diverse events organized by the Sharjah Culture Department in cooperation with more than 20 cultural, academic, and artistic entities in Sharjah.
Participants present 681 calligraphic and artistic works, which vary between artistic installations, calligraphic works, murals, and paintings in authentic calligraphy and Islamic ornamentation, and are distributed across a group of cultural and artistic sites in the emirate.
The program includes 26 exhibitions of authentic and contemporary calligraphy, with the participation of 272 artists, in addition to 61 artistic workshops, visual shows, and three lectures that address the developments of Arabic calligraphy, its issues, and its contemporary manifestations.
The international symposium accompanying the forum is held at Beit Al Hikmah under the title 'Arabic Calligraphy between Authenticity and Global Leadership' with the participation of a group of researchers, academics, and artists from the Arab world and beyond.
The forum will host 100 guests from media, lecturers, calligraphers, and workshop supervisors.
Exhibitions and artistic experiments
Al-Qasimi pointed to a number of participating exhibitions, including 'The Noble Adornment', 'Balance', and 'Pioneers', which will be held at the Sharjah Art Museum, in addition to the 'Pictures from My Beautiful Country' exhibition, which includes 36 photographic works by 36 photographers in cooperation with the Arab Photographers Union, and the 'Language of the Letter and the Eye' exhibition, which includes 60 works by 30 photographers in cooperation with the Emirates Photography Society.
The Emirates Society for Calligraphy and Islamic Decoration hosts the 'My Family is My Paradise' exhibition, while the Emirates Fine Arts Society holds the 'Ink of the Balance' exhibition.
At Beit Al Hikmah, the 'By the Balance: From Point to Meaning' exhibition is held, which presents four artistic experiments, while the 1971 Design Center hosts a number of exhibitions, including 'Barzakh', 'He', 'Sea Without Shore', in addition to the Pakistani artist Shabbir Mir's internal 'Alphabet of Sitting' and external 'Measure of Existence' exhibitions.
The University of Arts in Sharjah also hosts the Lebanese artist 'Between Them' exhibition, which addresses the concept of balance with a special artistic vision.
Honor and awards
On the honorary side, the current session will honor three calligraphers, Khalifa Al-Shimi from Egypt, Belid Hamidi from Morocco, and Ali Al-Hamadi from the UAE.
The forum also presents honorary awards for outstanding works participating in the general exhibition, including the grand prize, three awards for the authentic trend, three awards for modern and contemporary calligraphic arts, and a special jury award for the Emirati calligrapher.
The organization of the 12th session is an extension of the journey of the Sharjah Calligraphy Forum, which was established in 2004 under the patronage and support of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, with the aim of enhancing the presence of Arabic calligraphy in the artistic scene, highlighting its aesthetics and expressive potential, and linking it with contemporary artistic experiences.
