Persian Calligraphy Workshop with Majid Roohafza

Participate in a Persian calligraphy workshop on Friday, October 5, held in conjunction with the exhibition, Reminders of Home: Persian Art Connecting Homeland and Diaspora. Persian calligraphy is a rich blend of Persian arts, poetry and history, and is an important aspect of Persian culture. In this interactive workshop, calligrapher Majid Roohafza will discuss different styles of calligraphy and their importance in Persian culture. Attendees will then have the chance to practice Persian calligraphy. Some experience with the Persian language is recommended.

Roohafza graduated from the Iranian Association of Calligraphers. His work has been featured in art exhibitions and venues in Iran and in the United States. He specializes in two forms of calligraphy native to Iran, known as Nastaliq and Cursive Nastaliq, performing both in traditional forms as well as modern abstracts.

Reminders of Home explores Persian art through objects of everyday use borrowed from Iranian community members in North Carolina, as well as select pieces of decorative calligraphy including reproductions from the Ackland Art Museum’s collection dating from the 17th and 19th centuries. Reminders of Home examines the historical and cultural significance of Persian art for the lives of Iranian families both in North Carolina and Iran.

This workshop is sponsored by the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, UNC Persian Studies, UNC Art Department, UNC Persian Cultural Society and UNC Global Relations, with support from the Iranian Cultural Society of North Carolina.