By Umer NangianaOne of the oldest and finest visual art forms, calligraphy lives on as a style to beautify expression. Even today, this art of writing is flourishing as an art form adopted by artists even from areas other than the orthodox calligraphy origins.With the world shrinking into a global village through a communication revolution, traditional calligraphy art in Middle East has also witnessed a rich fusion of style and design from other parts of the world. More and more contemporary artists are using styles borrowed not only from other regions but from other art forms as well.One can see glimpses of lettering styles resembling those found in East Asia. Some are inspired by other art forms such as graffiti, for instance. One such showcase of modern styles of Middle Eastern calligraphy is currently on display at the 1st Doha Symposium for Arabic Calligraphy at Katara Cultural Village, Gallery 1 of Building 18.It is a festival of calligraphy featuring prominent artists from the region and outside who have put some of their best works on show. Dozens of calligraphy lovers and enthusiasts visit the symposium every day and a good number of paintings have already been purchased by the collectors of this art form.Besides the veteran artists and established names, the symposium has given ample opportunity to emerging and young artists to showcase their talent. And they have been appreciated.Mohammed Jenaid, a Qatari artist, is one of them. Visitors have taken keen interest in his work for its distinct style and execution. Most of his paintings on the display have been sold. Born in Doha in 1975, Jenaid is the member of Qatar Fine Art Society (QFAS) and Doha Youth Center. From a young age, he has been participating in art exhibitions organised by Qatar University, QFAS and others besides featuring in Junior GCC art exhibitions.He has studied artist human anatomy and is trained to practice his art in different mediums including watercolour, oil colour, acrylic, pastel, plastic colour, collage, ceramic and sculpture.Modern calligraphy ranges from functional inscriptions and designs to fine-art pieces where the letters sometimes are not even legible. Conventionally known as designing of lettering with a broad tip instrument or a brush in a single stroke as opposed to drawing of letters in a build-up form, the contemporary calligraphic practice has evolved as expressive and harmonious. This is evident in the works of many artists on display at the symposium. Sabah Arbilli, a UK-based artist originally from Iraq, excels at harmonising the traditional calligraphy with other art forms particularly, sculpturing.Currently based in the UK and Qatar, Arbilli works as a full time artist mainly drawing on Arabic calligraphy using a variety of mediums. His traditional calligraphy has won many prizes and he has been invited as an expert adviser and consultant in the world of calligraphy.Arbilli has also done a series of outdoor public art pieces on architectural buildings and free standing stainless steel sculpture. His work was also selected as a permanent piece for the opening of the Islamic Museum of Australia and United Nations.In Qatar, the artist is best known for his calligraphic art piece installed at the Corniche that was unveiled on Qatar’s National Day in December 2013. Since then, it has become a major attraction for visitors. The 6m high Corniche sculpture features an Arabic verse from a poem written by Qatar’s founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani which translates as “And amongst the sultans I stood out; as lanneret floating over mountain peaks.”A sample of Arbilli’s work on display at the symposium shows his creative prowess. “The words in my work challenge you to explore the text, work your way around the meaning looking at the colour, composition and space,” says Arbilli, describing his work.“The secret thought of the audience prods to make you think beyond the often superficial messages beneath the surface,” he adds, explaining his style that is purposely wired around “not claiming answers but posing questions leading the viewer to revalue the theme.” Arbilli’s early works reveal a traditional concept of style. He however, moved towards making pieces that mirror advancements in painting and eventually, abstract compositions. He has been experimenting with different media on paper, canvas and sculpture alternating the same themes.The artist’s works can be found in the Middle East and internationally in many private collections and architectural buildings. His works are categorised in representation, reproduction and revisiting the concept of Arabic letter and calligraphy to a new modern international platform.Another distinct artist in the symposium is Yousry El Mamlouk, an Arabic calligrapher in Alexandria, Egypt. Almost all of his work at the symposium carries the ‘sold’ tag on it. He is one artist whose work reflects the fusion of different art forms with calligraphy.Inspired by graffiti, he appears to be attempting to incorporate it with calligraphy. The spray paint medium of graffiti, it appears, complements the traditional pen of calligraphy in some of his works.Born in Alexandira in 1958, El Mamlouk graduated from faculty of Fine Arts, Painting Department Alexandria University in 1982. He is teaching in faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University. The artist was granted the shield of the international calligraphy art exhibition from the president of Pakistan in Lahore 1999.He was also a member of selection committee in The Arabic Calligraphy Exhibition Ministry of Culture 2003. He is known to have painted on Asphalt and took keen interest in graffiti while it was not widely known in his native country.He has demonstrated his skills in different styles including the Thuloth and Jali Diwani styles. However, his skills are not just limited to paper. He has taken it to ceramics, architecture and garments.The other skillful and established artist at the symposium is Qatar’s own Yousef Ahmed. Now a painter renowned for using natural colours extracted from natural elements found in the environment of his native country, Ahmed started out as a calligrapher.Born in Qatar in 1955, Yousef developed an initial interest in art in his school years, travelling to Egypt after graduation to study art education at Cairo (now Helwan) University. As an artist himself, Ahmed had by then found his creative niche, practising and developing the art of calligraphy.Early in his career, Yousef began to explore the shape and form of calligraphy by focusing on his own visual interpretation of Arabic script in his paintings.Inspired by the forms and the hues of the flat desert landscape of his native Qatar and by Arabic calligraphy, Yousef’s paintings are often collages of mixed-media works, colours and textures. Lines are elongated across the canvas or wood, and letters and patterns are layered with architectural shapes. He searched within these materials for what can best express his feelings represented in the sea, sky and land of Qatar.His most recent paintings have been produced on paper hand-made from Qatari palm fronds that he creates himself, adding a unique, loved, three-dimensional brilliance to his work.Ahmad’s keen interest in recording and archiving the development of Qatari art as well as the fact that he has regularly represented his country at international biennials and events globally, has given him a special standing as an artist, art adviser, and writer.Calligraphy continues to flourish in different forms and new artists are emerging on the scene. One of them is Qatar’s Jameela al-Ansari. Holding a bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of Qatar, she is trained in technical foundations of drawing, oil painting, watercolours, acrylic colours, fabric painting, graphic and stone carving.Her work has also attracted the attention of visitors as one that is traditional in ideas and form and contemporary in style. As an artist, she has exhibited in many group and solo showcases including the conceptual art gallery in the centre of the visual arts in 2011, Art Exhibition common (Women and Heritage 2011), Katara, 2011 Symposium, Youth Week Exhibition in London with the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage 2013 besides others.Other artists on display at the symposium include Abbas Yousef from Bahrain, Taj Alsir Hassan from Sudan besides Mohammed al-Saad, Moza al-Kuwari and Ali Dasmal al-Kuwari from Qatar.