National Calligraphy Competition to motivate young artists achieve excellence: Irfan Siddiqui      

ISLAMABAD: National Calligraphy Competition scheduled to be held in the month of February will serve as catalyst toward promotion of glorious Islamic art of Calligraphy in the country and motivate the young artists to get excellence in this ancient form of art.

This was stated by Advisor to Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH), Irfan Siddiqui while talking to APP on Tuesday.

Irfan Siddiqui said “Abdul Majeed Parveen Raqam National Calligraphy Competition” will be a first of its kind which is being arranged by NH&LH Division as a part of its efforts for reviving this neglected art. This calligraphy competition is dedicated to Abdul Majeed Parveen Raqam who was a legendary calligrapher and rendered huge contribution in this field, he said.

This calligraphy Competition along with an exhibition of selected art pieces will be held from February 23 to February 28 at a local hotel.

Young calligraphers aged up to 35 years from across the country including Azad Jammu Kashmir, FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan are eligible to take part in the competition and showcase their extra-ordinary talents.

Irfan Siddiqui revealed that a total of 15 awards will be given in three categories to the winners of the competitions on the concluding day of the exhibition (Feb 28). These categories include Nastaleeq, Thuluth and Modern style calligraphy.

He further said a special grant of Rs. 60 million is being given to the newly established Calligraphy Institute at National Language Promotion Department (NLPD) for its strong foundation.

It is pertinent to mention here that cash prizes worth Rs. 75,000, Rs. 50,000, Rs. 40,000, Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 15,000 will be given to the best five calligraphers of each category.

The selection of best calligraphers will be made by the jury comprising over senior calligraphers in transparent manner. The calligraphers participating in the competition will also conduct training workshops during the calligraphy exhibition.

The calligraphy exhibition will be open for the general public during the whole week.

The last date for the submission of art pieces to the division is January 31. For further details, the artists can get information about the competition at Phone No: 03336911711.