Abu Dhabi, April 15th, 2010 (WAM) -- Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Director General of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) has termed Eighth International Arabic Calligraphy Competition unique for all types of calligraphy known today.

The competition was organised by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), and sponsored by (ADACH).

The current season, includes approximately 700 calligraphers and artists from thirty-one countries, participating with around 1000 works of calligraphy inscription. This figure includes fourteen participants from the UAE.

"Through this competition, which aims to promote and preserve the values and authenticity of Arabic and Islamic calligraphy and ensure that the work of our calligraphy artists conforms to accepted standards, we intend to continue to build cultural bridges within Abu Dhabi and the UAE and encourage communication between all nations and peoples. This communication will transcend geographical boundaries and will provide the community of Abu Dhabi with access to many different cultures" Al Mazrouei said.

First winners of the 10 categories of the competition were announced Wednesday evening in a press conference held in Hilton Hotel Abu Dhabi.

Abdulla Al Ameri, Director of Culture and Arts Department at ADACH said in the press conference "We continue to sponsor intellectual exchanges, activate the mechanisms of serious and open cultural dialogue with others, and develop the concepts of artistic creative production. We give our continued support for the eighth round of this Competition, which is dedicated to the memory of a renowned master of calligraphy, the late Syrian Badawi al-Dirani. It reflects a new and unique image of elevated art, and the professional progress that has been attained within the United Arab Emirates via its sponsorship and whole-hearted adoption of art and culture"Dr Khalid Eren, Director of (IRCICA), noted that Arabic calligraphy is enjoying being supported in many member countries of the Islamic Conference "UAE is one of those countries that become an attraction point for renowned calligraphers and their masterpieces in old and present time" he said.

The competition was first launched in 1985 and continued to be the only one of its kind with international excellence standard, according to Dr Eren.

This season, 700 calligraphers participated with 1000 art works in ten deferent categories of Arabic calligraphy known in the Islamic world. Contesters come from 31 countries. The total number of awards and appreciation awards is 68. The total cash prize is USD 126.500. The prizes were given to 64 winners from 15 countries.

The competition covers 10 types of Arabic calligraphy styles fallowing the traditional school of calligraphy and using classical ink and traditionally prepared paper.

In the spirit to encourage young artists to emulate the examples of the great masters of calligraphy and, at the same time, to commemorate their achievements, the Centre organises each season in the name of a renowned calligraphy master.

This year the competition was named after Muhammed Badawi al-Dirani (1894-1967), an eminent calligrapher of Syria in the twentieth century, was born in Damascus. He is called al-Dirani in reference to Dair, a village in the Damascus countryside. He was educated in Quranic schools from his early childhood. He engaged in calligraphy when he was twelve years old. He took lessons from calligrapher Mustafa Sibai, student of Sahib Qalam, who taught him the rules of taliq, a calligraphy style that he later mastered.

His style was appreciated by professionals as well as the public, and calligraphers followed his example. He was also distinguished in thuluth, the style of Rasa and Mamduh, but followed the example of calligraphers Shafiq and Aziz al-Rafai. He mastered jaly thuluth, as is seen in the inscriptions of the Othman, Rawdha and Thuraya mosques, the Ministry of Justice building and in the Peoples Assembly building.

Al-Dirani taught calligraphy at Damascus schools, to many prominent calligraphers such as Zuhair Manini, Abdul Razzaq Qusaibati, Othman Taha, Ahmed al-Mufti, Mahmoud al- Hawari etc. He also taught writers and poets including Nizar Qabbani, Dr. Shakir Mustafa, Dr. Najat Qassab Hassan, Yasser al-Malih, among others.

The total number of participants in various categories of the eighth contest is 700 participants from 31 countries with more than 1000 inscriptions included.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.