Calligraphy, graffiti gain popularity

Arabic calligraphy and graffiti is proving extremely popular with young artists, so Red Sea Mall organized a five-day Arabic calligraphy competition and graffiti talent show to give them the chance to demonstrate their talents.
The competition will continue until tomorrow.
The competition winners will be announced on 25 July and honored during a Ramadan party, said Huda Salih, supervisor of the program. A 10-day exhibition will also be showcased for the public.
Fatima Saleh Ba Azeem, organizer of the competition, said: “We organized this Arabic calligraphy competition under the theme of "99 Names of Allah."
“We had 99 participants and each participant chose one name.
“We started and planned the competition very early and for the past one month young artists called and registered.
“We hope our hard efforts will bring excellent results.
“We chose the 99 names of Allah for the competition because then the artists will learn not only the best Arabic calligraphy and graffiti but also the names as well.”
She added they also wanted to convey the beauty of the Arabic language and graffiti through this competition.
“The Arabic calligraphy starts or came from the Qur’an.
“It’s our heritage and a way to show our talent. We should spread our talent and beauty of art throughout the world.”
Most of the participants were taking part for the first time in the competition.
They needed to know Arabic writing and have some knowledge of graffiti techniques.
Naila Imam, an 18-year-old participant who chose to write Al-Hafiz in Arabic calligraphy, said: “This is the second time I am participating in such competition and for the last two years I am making paintings although this is just my hobby, as I love to play with colors.
Another participant, 24-year-old Yasir Ahmed Madani, said he has been learning graffiti and Arabic calligraphy for the past four years through YouTube and participating in art shows. “I saw my friends were doing graffiti in English, but I thought it would be different if I could do it in another language. So I started learning Arabic Calligraphy.”
He said in Jeddah most young men like graffiti art because it helps them express their feelings. There were almost 300 participants who participated in the show.