An Introduction to Arab Calligraphy.

The 13 students of the Year 9 Introduction to Arabic undertook a two introduction to Arab calligraphy with artist Zahidah Zeytoun Millie. Students are into their eighth week of learning Standard Arabic and have already learnt eight of the 28 letter alphabet: أ, ب, ت, ث, ج, ح, خ, ن

Zahidah introduced students to Kufic, Kairouani, Thuluth, Maghrebi, Diwani and Ruq’ah styles of writing. Then, we were straight into the progression from pencil, through calligraphy pen to quill and ink. We also used a stencil and spray paint to produce large scale stylised and coloured letters. Students plan to display work produced in the Library in Week 9.

The class is very grateful to Zahidah for sharing her expertise, and to Danyl Lunardelli and Joanna Wiltshire of the Art Department for supporting the class. Projects for Term 4 include a cooking lesson to make tabbouleh and an excursion to the Islamic Museum of Australia in Coburg.

Daniel Millie
Teacher