Huda Ahmad Totonji is a Saudi-born American visual artist, designer, and educator. Totonji is also a master calligrapher and is certified to teach Arabic Calligraphy. In addition to her calligraphic work, she also creates mixed media art, installations and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. Totonji is the president of Huda Art, LLC, which creates custom art for clients. Totonji is also the first person from Saudi Arabia to lecture at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Biography

Totonji was born in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

. She earned her bachelor's and master's of fine arts degrees from

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

. Totonji earned her Islamic Calligraphy Master's Certificate ('' Ijazah'') in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, and earned her PhD in fine art in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. She studied Graphic Design at Art Institute of Washington. Totonji has been teaching a graphic design at

Dar Al-Hekma College Dar Al-Hekma University is a private, non-profit institution of higher education for women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Classes are taught in English. The university started in September 1999, with the approval of the Saudi Ministry of Education. It r ...

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

KSA Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. She often lectures in universities in Washington Metropolitan area and others the likes of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, Howard University, Montgomery College,

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (University of the Sciences or USciences) was a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. USciences offered bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in pharmacy and other health-related dis ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, and in Griffith University in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia and others. She has taken part in over 20 exhibitions worldwide and has a degree in visual information technology. Her paintings vary from portrait to landscape, from still life to calligraphy. She likes to mix things such as newspaper cuttings in her installations and performances. That is how she characterizes her painting, "the female vision is central to what she makes". In 2009 Huda has taken part at the ''Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow 2009 Conference'' in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, Qatar. She was elected among other 300 Muslim leaders from 75 countries to represent Muslim women there. Totonji's work has been featured in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

film, '' Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet''. The Islamic Broadcasting Network (IBN) wrote that Totonji brings "a sense of reality and humanity to the idea of Muslim woman ..Huda's goal is to revolutionize the idea that Muslim women are limited."

References

External links

Official site
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century women artists Academic staff of Dar Al-Hekma University Art Institute of Washington alumni Calligraphers of Arabic script George Mason University alumni Harvard Extension School faculty People from Riyadh Saudi Arabian emigrants to the United States Saudi Arabian women artists Women calligraphers {{US-artist-stub