Arab Calligraphy Competition Attracts 2,000 Visitors to Website
King Khalid University continued to receive participation from candidates interested in the Arabic Calligraphy Competition, which was launched last Monday, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Asir. The competition — formed in line with the Ministry of Culture's Year of Arabic Calligraphy — was inaugurated by His Excellency, King Khalid University Rector Prof. Falleh Al-Solamy, as part of the "Mobaderoon" initiative. Of note, the competition offers generous awards totaling 80,000 riyals which will be granted to the winners from citizens and residents in the Kingdom.
Dean of Community Service and Continuing Education, Dr. Omar Alwan Aqeel, highlighted that the competition site witnessed more than 2,000 visits within three days from ten countries, including: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait, America, Yemen, and Turkey.
Dean Aqeel assured that all the work of the contestants is subject to arbitration by experts and specialists in the art of Arabic calligraphy, where the jury consists of Khalid Saeed Al-Qahtani, Chairman of the Committee, who is the director of the Ibn Al-Bawab Center for Arabic Calligraphy and a founding member of most of the associations and calligraphy centers in the Kingdom. The committee members are Nasser Al-Maimoon, who is considered the representative of the Kingdom in the art of Arabic calligraphy internationally as he has won more than 30 awards in the field, as well as Jamal Al-Kabasi who is a pioneer of the Kufic script. Also included is Ayed Al Obaid who is one of the members of the Saudi Calligraphy Society and an academic researcher in Arabic calligraphy and founder of the Center Ibn Al-Bawab. The committee also includes Ibrahim Al-Arafi, a calligrapher of the Noble Sanctuary of the Holy Mosque, who has won several awards in this field, in addition to Serag Al-Omari, the international representative of the Kingdom, who has won several different awards locally and globally.
Those wishing to participate in the competition can log on to the website (by clicking here).
