Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre Continues Receiving Visitors Of ‘Artistic Characteristics– Elegant Calligraphy And Inspiring Features’ Exhibition

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 29th Nov, 2021) The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC) continues receiving visitors to the exhibition titled ‘Artistic Characteristics – Elegant Calligraphy and Inspiring Features’, which has kicked-off on 18 November, to celebrate the International Day of Islamic Arts, to preserve and revive the artistic heritage of Islamic civilisation.

This exhibition reflects SZGMC’s message to revive the sciences and arts of Islamic civilization, as part of the Center’s belief in arts as a common language and an effective tool for civilized cross-cultural dialogue. This comes in line with the mosque’s position as a modern model of Islamic architecture that is unique in its creative arts and architectural designs, which is evident in its corridors and halls, which has made it a leading global cultural destination on the world tourism map.

The exhibition organized at the Visitors’ Center of SZGMC in Abu Dhabi, provides an opportunity for visitors from different parts of the world to view its cultural content distributed across six sections dealing with different aspects of Islamic arts.

Cultural tour guides at the Center provides detailed explanations for visitors about the exhibition’s content, as one of the most prominent global exhibitions, and educates them about the architectural arts manifested in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, in addition to the importance of ancient and contemporary Islamic arts. Additionally, the exhibition raises awareness of the contributions of Islamic art in preserving human civilization.

Tour guides pointed that through this exhibition, SZGMC seeks to highlight the vision and mission set by the founding father, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, for the mosque, to be one of the most important bridges of civilizational rapprochement, a platform that encourages global dialogue, and spread values of tolerance and coexistence between different nationalities.

The organization of this exhibition reflects the UAE’s strategy, seeking to build bridges of cultural, civilizational, and human rapprochement. It also seeks to spread the noble values and lofty human concepts through different arts and cultures.

The first section of the exhibition ‘Through the Pages of History’ contains a rare collection of books, where visitors learn about the history of Islamic art in different regions of the world, through an interesting journey in the pages of eight books that are amongst the rarest worldwide, which are considered precious pearls in the dearly curated collection of Al Jami’ library.

The second section ‘Scripts from History’ takes visitors to a world of beauty that shines in the exemplary professionalism of the various kinds of Arabic calligraphy. Visitors will see samples of the Koufi script, Thuluth script, Moroccan script, Muhaqqaq script, Diwani script, and other artistic scripts created by calligraphers. They are part of the collection of Mohammed Ahmad Al Murr, an Emirati writer who held various senior positions in the UAE government and is passionate about collecting Arabic and foreign artworks related to Islamic art, with particular emphasis on Arabic calligraphy.

‘Inspired by Photos’, this section highlights a number of photos that feature Islamic art through the lenses of female students from the Higher Colleges of Technology who reflected in their highly professional and artistic photos the harmonious and symmetrical Islamic architecture of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which in turn, reflects the themes of cultural dialogue.

‘The Language of the Brush’, this section features artworks drawn by the female students of Zayed University, drawing on an unmistakable influence of, and pride in, Islamic art. The hard classic lines and freehand ones have expressed the feelings behind letters and words in color and meaning.

‘Spaces of Light Photos’, this section will take visitors to the most creative artwork of both professional and amateur photographers, reflecting the messages and themes of the mosque and the artistic and aesthetic features of the various eras of Islamic architecture. These photographers endeavored to reflect these features in their contributions to the competition called "Spaces of Light Photography Award" launched by the Mosque under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, who genuinely believe in the role of photography in conveying the messages of the Mosque.

The sixth section An Interactive Journey into the Islamic Culture, includes an interactive screen that takes visitors on a cultural journey to the ‘Coins of islam: History Revealed’ exhibition, with the aim to revive the history of Islamic arts and their human values that express the Center’s message to achieve harmony among people and find a common language for civilizational dialogue.

The exhibition’s collections of photographs and paintings express the Center’s keenness to present artistic and cultural creations, as they embody the aesthetics of Islamic art manifested in the corridors and halls of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which in turn expresses the finest forms of civilized dialogue, through its harmony and comprehensiveness for several eras and cultures in a unified architectural form.

The SZGMC, an affiliate to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, enjoys the support and the follow up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. It was established to represent a cultural and intellectual platform formed on the combined basis of cultural and national values. It serves as an Iconic masterpiece reflecting the concepts and values of the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, deeply rooted in the sentiment of the nation, and constitutes an extension of the doctrines of the tolerant Islamic religion, and the core values that form UAEs national identity.