SHARJAH, Apr. 7th, 2010: His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and will be open until June 7 today inaugurated the Fourth Sharjah Biennial for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy 2010 at the old city in Sharjah.

Present at the ceremony were H.H Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Bin Sultan Al-Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and H.H Sheikh Abdullah Bin Salim Al-Qassimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, sheikhs and senior officials.

Sheikh Sultan toured the venue of the event which features 260 works by more than 150 male and female artists from 28 countries.

He was briefed by the participants on their works which use a combination of calligraphy, photography and Arabic letters to tackle a variety of themes.

Sheikh Sultan also inaugurated individual exhibitions of honored artists Sami Burhan (Syrian), Ghulam Hussein Amir Khani (Iran), Naja Al-Mehdawi (Tunisia) and Youssef Thannoun (Iraq).

He expressed great admiration at the works which use the aesthetics of the art of calligraphy and Arabic script as a means of expression.

In a speech at the opening, Director General of Sharjah Department of Culture & Information Abdullah Al-Owais said the event "further establishes its status on the beauty of the scripts of the Holy Quran. It hosts hundreds of participants from a host of countries such as Japan, China, Korea, and Germany. Those mastered calligraphy and become creative in the art which infatuated them."The event also hosts 21 individual and joint exhibitions at the cultural centers in Kalba, Khor Fakkan, and Dibba Al Hisn.

A total of 333 artists are taking part in the exhibition that showcases 821 artworks from across 28 countries, according to Al Owais.

A number of seminars and workshops on Arabic calligraphy will also be held during the event.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.