International Calligraphy Biennial Opens in Qazvin

The 5th International Biennial of Persian Calligraphy opened Saturday at the Sa’d al-Saltaneh Caravanserai in Qazvin.

A total of 215 calligraphers from 25 provinces are showing their works in Qazvin known as the capital of Persian calligraphy. Their works are on display at the large caravanserai that dates back to the Qajar era (1786-1925), Young Journalists Club reported.

The biennial includes three categories. The first category is Nastaliq, traditionally the predominant style in Persian calligraphy, which is a cursive script with long horizontal strokes and short verticals.

The second category is Broken Nastaliq, a development of Nastaliq with spontaneous and uninhabited strokes.

Scripts of Naskh and Thuluth are included in the third category. Naskh is a small script with thin lines and round letter shapes, that is the preferred style for typesetting and printing. Thuluth is often used for titles or epigraphs rather than lengthy texts.

In the Nastaliq category 129 calligraphers are participating, 57 artists have presented works in Broken Nastaliq, and in the styles of Naskh and Thuluth, works by 29 calligraphists are on view.

With 36 entries, Tehran Province has the largest contribution to the biennial. Next is the host province, Qazvin, with 33 works. Qom and Khorasan Razavi are third.

The international section of the biennial will open on September 18 and includes works by Syrian and Iraqi artists.

The 5th Biennial of Persian Calligraphy is organized under the auspices of the Culture Ministry’s Visual Arts Department, the provincial office of the ministry and the Institute for Promotion of Contemporary Visual Art affiliated to Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

It will run through September 27, when best works will be announced. Sa’d al-Saltaneh, the largest roofed caravanserai in the world, is located on Imam Khomeni Street in downtown Qazvin in northwest Iran.