ABOUT THIS BOOK
PUBLISHER: Saqi Books
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9780863569012
RRP: £25.00
PAGES: 160
PUBLICATION DATE:
September 3, 2018
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Khatt: Egypt’s Calligraphic Landscape
Basma Hamdy
Noha Zayed
Huda Smitschuijzen Abifares
Egyptian cities and villages abound with an enormous wealth of khatt, or calligraphic script, ranging from casual scrawlsand scribbles to elaborately-painted colourful murals. These historical and contemporary versions of urban lettering,varying in surface, medium and technique, adorn mosques, shop-fronts, houses, trucks, boats, schools, tuk-tuks andwalls. They are records of human existence, documenting expressions of hope, fears, dreams and anxieties.Featuring beautiful and unique examples of these written expressions, Khatt is an extensive visual documentationof the found typography and calligraphy in Egypt, a calligraphy hub that possesses a rich tradition of educationand production in the field. This timely volume records the traditional craftsmanship of hand-painted calligraphy, whichis fast disappearing because of the digitization of the Arabic script.
Basma Hamdy
Basma Hamdy is Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Hamdy has exhibitedand appeared at international art and design festivals and conferences, including Duke University’s Arts of the Revolution andSpielart Festival Munich. Her publications include Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution.Noha Zayed is a photographer and creative entrepreneur based in Cairo, Egypt. She co-curates the highly popular Instagramaccount `Arabic Typography’ which has over 90K followers. Zayed has exhibited in festivals and platforms across the MiddleEast such as Dubai Design Week and the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial.