February, 2nd
The first International Silk Road Calligraphy Festival Raqs-e Qalam (Feather Dance) was held in Tehran, the capital of Iran. More than 150 artists from all over the world presented about a thousand of their works. Also there were an exhibition and a special conference organized within the framework of this festival.
Artists and calligraphers from many different countries took part in that creative event, including Azerbaijan, France, Kazakhstan, Spain, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Poland, Iran, South Korea, Japan, China, India, Singapore, Mongolia, Syria, UAE, Turkey, Russia, Oman, Lebanon, Iran and many others.
The festival was organized by the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held online for the first six days – from January, 20 until January, 25. During the conference calligraphic masters shared their own experience and the latest achievements in this unique art. According to the organizers, the main goal of the event was to eliminate the ideas of hostility and war in people’s mind through art.
At the opening ceremony in Tehran, Hojatollah Ayubi, head of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, and other speakers stressed the importance of art in bringing nations together.
The Russian Federation was represented by Gulnaz Ismagilova (Kazan), Artur Pisarenko (Mozhga) and the employee of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy Amir Belyalov. It needs to be mentioned that Amir Belyalov has been practicing classical Arabic calligraphy since 2009. Previously he studied this art at the center of Arabic calligraphy "An-Namir" in Kazan, the Republic of Tatarstan where he gained his diploma in several calligraphy styles.
