Sharjah Calligraphy Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

celebrating local and international artists and calligraphers, their distinctive masterpieces displayed all throughout in exhibits set to embrace the

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

Arabic calligraphy Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic as ''khatt'' ( ar, خط), derived from the word 'line', 'design', or 'construction'. Kufic is the oldest form of t ...

. It aims to highlight the importance of preserving this

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. The museum showcases the

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

of Arabic calligraphy, with artworks of calligraphic texts, letters, and shapes on a variety of tools and surfaces, such as canvases,

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

, and even ceramics. Besides the permanent displays, the museum presents changing

exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the onl ...

, and

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...

. First opening its doors on June 12, 2002,

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

Calligraphy Museum is located in the Sharjah Heritage Area in the house of Hamad Al Midfaa.

Temporary exhibitions

The museum acts as a venue for the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, arranged by the Sharjah Department of

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and Information, every two years. Some of the exhibitions organized by the department include the following: # The Enrique de Malacca Memorial Project by Ahmad Fuad Osman. #

Video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

, audio, photographs, library,

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

, and posters by Uriel Orlow. # Black-and-white video projection with sound by

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system ...

and Chai Siri. # Various works by the late Ali Jabri, who was awarded a Shariah Biennial 2017 Special

Prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. # A display of artwork and material by Antariksa. # “Mute Grain” by Phan Thảo Nguyên, which includes 24 paintings and a three-channel video.

Opening hours

The museum is open from Saturday to Thursday, 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM. On Friday, the hours change to 4:00 PM till 8:00 PM.

Facilities

Some of the available facilities include a library, a gift shop, restrooms, a visitor's sitting area, and Wi-Fi.

Entry fees

Children under two years old are able to enter for free, while those between two and twelve years old would have to pay 5 AED. Children 13 and up and adults are required to pay 10 AED. For tourist groups, those under two are free while children between two and twelve are required an amount of 3 AED each. People. 13 and up should pay 7 AED each. School trips, government or private, are free.

References

{{coord, 25.35776, 55.38451, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AE, display=title History museums in the United Arab Emirates Museums in Sharjah (city) Buildings and structures in Sharjah (city)