Calligraphy Workshop with Akil Ahmed
Description
Participants will explore the art of Arabic calligraphy in a guided workshop led by Akil Ahmed, an artist recognised with the Al Burda Award for his calligraphic paintings and currently exhibiting at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation as part of The Shape of Meaning: Highlights from the Al Burda Collection. Conducted in Arabic, the workshop offers a focused yet welcoming environment where participants are introduced to calligraphic forms, rhythm, and expression, while engaging directly with the practice of a contemporary exhibiting artist.
Artist
Akil Ahmed
A specialised artist, born in Aleppo, Syria in 1988. All of his academic training took place in Aleppo, where he studied calligraphy at the Institute of Fine Arts in 2008 and later graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2011.
He has held several solo exhibitions in Lebanon, Kuwait, Berlin, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to participating in numerous group exhibitions.
He is the recipient of several international awards in calligraphy, including first prize at the Al Burda Award in 2018. He has also participated in multiple editions of the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, and his works have been featured in major international auctions such as Sotheby’s in Los Angeles (2021) and Christie’s in Dubai (2018).
His artworks are part of private collections as well as institutional collections, including the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. Most recently, his work was presented in a solo exhibition at the Sharjah Museums Authority, held in conjunction with the Sharjah Arabic Calligraphy Biennial 2024.