The Ministry of Culture and Islamic guidance will deal sternly with unlawful acts by those who challenge Iran’s Association of Calligraphers, said Culture Minister Ali Jannati, at the 12th general assembly of the association on Thursday.
Nearly 374 members, including young and veteran artists, from across the country attended the meeting, held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, MNA reported.
The past century proved significant for calligraphy in Iran and its role in the Islamic world.
“From the arrival of printing equipment and use of computers in changing scripts, to the extensive activities in training calligraphy enthusiasts by the Association of Calligraphers, Iran has undergone enormous changes and challenges regarding calligraphy,” Jannati said.
He said the present time is critical for calligraphy as today there are many challenges facing the art. “If the status of calligraphy is to be valued and recognized like in the past, it needs revision and we have to seriously reflect upon it.”
The relation between traditional and innovative forms, the existence of skill beside knowledge, the audience, and semantics, as well as several other important issues are subjects that experts need to study to keep this art alive.
Jannati pointed to the high status of calligraphers in society and warned about the negative approach and undermining acts “by some people who create controversies among artists.” Such behavior is neither in harmony with the spirit of art nor helpful.
The ministry as the custodian of culture and art in the country is responsible to preserve past achievements and help improve conditions for artists in their artistic creativity, and support them in times of difficulty.
With cooperation of eminent professors, and other lovers of culture, the first calligraphy institute was founded 65 years ago under the supervision of the then ministry of culture and arts.
The institute was renamed ‘Iran’s Association of Calligraphers’ in 1967. In the third decade of its foundation, due to the increasing popularity of calligraphy among people especially teenagers and youths, the association began to develop branches across the country. It offers calligraphy programs to enthusiasts.
