TRANSCENDENT TEXT: EXPLORING UNIVERSAL VALUES THROUGH ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY In partnership with the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, QAIC’s launches first exhibition in its new location
Within months of moving into a completely new space, the Qatar America Institute for Culture was able to successfully launch the first exhibition in its new gallery space: “Transcendent Text: Exploring Universal Values Through Islamic Calligraphy.” The 20-piece exhibit was a collaborative effort done in partnership with the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar. The description of this unique and powerful exhibition is as follows: While art may be an expression of one person, expression is an art of all people. Through the vibrant and technical works of internationally renowned master calligrapher and sculptor Sabah Arbilli, the beauty of color and human expression is expertly merged with the sacred art of Islamic calligraphy. In his careful use of specific sacred passages from the Qur’an and statutes from the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Arbilli’s work tells the story of the oneness of mankind in light
Qatar America Institute for Culture
of the truths that seek to bind us rather than divide us. Much like the interlaced strokes of Arbilli’s masterful calligraphy, each piece depicts an excerpt of the Qur’an, Hadith, or international conventions that when interwoven depict how the human condition isn’t just a shared experience, but a thing of collective universal importance.
Due to current COVID-19 safety guidelines, viewings of the Transcendent Text exhibit have to be arranged by private appointment only until further notice. However, to accommodate for this, the QAIC website also hosts a “virtual exhibition” where users can view all 20 works by navigating the virtual gallery from their own computers. The exhibition will run until May 2021.
2020 Annual Report
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