Wissam shawkat biography sample
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About Me
Born in Basra in 1974, for Wissam Shawkat it was the form of four letters from the Arabic alphabet written across a school blackboard that started him on a journey that has shaped him both in early years and adulthood. He recalls finding peace and patience writing and repeating calligraphic letters on the dusty tiles of a makeshift shelter during a heavy aerial bombardment during the Iraq-Iran war and, spurred on by supportive parents, he became his own tutor.
His teen summers were spent lettering for a local sign shop before he began studying for a degree in Civil Engineering at Basra University, graduating in 1996. The life as a Civil Engineer, though, was not Shawkat’s destiny and the point where his affinity for letterforms would wait no longer quickly came.
In recent years, Shawkat has become known for a new calligraphic style, Al Wissam, which references a number of traditional scripts including Sunbuli, Jali Diwani, Eastern Kufic, and Thuluth, bringing them t
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Calligraform, Wissam Shawkat
Wissam Shawkat is an artist of Arabic calligraphy. Born in Basra, Iraq, he was first introduced to Arabic calligraphy at the age of 10 by his primary school teacher Muhammad Ridha Suhail.
Wissam is largely self-taught in the rigorous medium, attaining mastery through book research and visits to various masters, museum and library collections throughout the region.
He has received numerous prizes for his calligraphy and has participated as both an artist and committee member at multiple editions of the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial and the Dubai International Calligraphy Exhibition. His style, which is referred to as Calligraform, focuses on the magnified precise forms of the letters but also the abstract shapes generated by examining the geometric spaces inside and outside of their structures.
Wissam is based in Dubai, where he is engaged full-time as an artist, designer and Arabic typographer. His work is regularly featured in book
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Wissam Shawkat
Born in Iraq, Basra City 1974, started practicing calligraphy in 1984, when the primary school teacher Mr. Muhammad Ridha Suhail and his parents guided and encouraged him. and since that he became passionate to the art of Arabic calligraphy mot he started his career as a professional calligrapher and graphic designer in 1990. After his graduation from the Civil Engineering Department from Basra University in 1996 he carried on self-taught by closely observing and studying the calligraphy of the masters of this art in Turkey like Sami Efindi, Mohammed Nazif, Hamid Al Amadi and Halim Efindi.
Since the beginning he believe in paying attention to every detail to produce a high quality calligraphy art works, his last achievements is winning Al Burda prize for the international calligraphy competition in Abu Dhabi 2007.
Participated in many local and international competitions and exhibitions. Winner of the Baghdad International calligraphy Festival commendation prize in