November 14th, 2015, 2 – 5 p.m. at Oakland Main Public Library at 125 14th St., Oakland, CA 94612
Free calligraphy demonstrations by award winning and renowned master calligraphers including:
GENERAL INFORMATION
- The exhibition and all the related public programs are free, in English, and open to the public. Donations are highly appreciated.
- Demonstrations are educational and hands-on.
- Oakland Main Public Library is wheelchair accessible.
- Special group tours out of the regular viewing hours can be scheduled with the curator by emailing to ziya.art.studio@gmail.com at least 1 week ahead.
- Arts are for sale. All purchase inquiries will be handled by emailing to the curator at ziya.art.studio@gmail.com including the name of artist and the piece in the body of the email.
- The exhibition book is planned to be produced with limited volume for $60. Pre-orders will only pay $30. To pre-order the book, send us an email to ziya.art.studio@gmail.com by November 15, 2015.
- For More information about the program and biography of the calligraphy masters participating in this program please visit www.ziyaart.com or email us at ziya.art.studio@gmail.com or call the curator at 510-283-4518.
- Any changes to the programs will be announced via our website at www.ziyaart.com and Facebook page at Ziya Multicultural Art Center.
PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
Ziya Art Center in partnership with Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC), Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC), SAMENA Circle, Persian Arts Revival (PAR), Met Arts, and California School of Traditional Arts, are leading the 2015 program. This program is made possible by a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.
Alan A. Blackman: Well-known calligrapher & lettering artist (Western scripts: The Artist’s Brush in the Hands of a Calligrapher)
Alan A. Blackman is a well-known calligrapher & lettering artist with 40 years’ membership in the Bay Area Friends of Calligraphy. He has taught lettering & calligraphy classes & workshops across the country as well as in Germany, England & Japan since 1975. He is most interested in abstract & unconventional alphabets & has designed the type faces Galahad for Adobe and Say Cheese for Monotype. His ground-breaking exhibit, “Letters to Myself” at the San Francisco Main Library was held from July 26th to October 13th, 2015.
Arash Shirinbab: Award winning artist and Arabic-Persian calligrapher
Arash Shirinbab is an award winning artist and calligrapher and has managed to be a successful blend of artist, Arabic-Persian calligrapher, and designer, as well as art administrator, art curator, and entrepreneur for the past ten years. He has participated in over 70 exhibitions (over 10 solos) nationally and internationally in the U.S., Spain, Poland, Canada, Russia, France, Italy, and Iran; such as the Triton Museum of Art in California, the Kunsthaus-Berlin-Marbella Center in Spain, and the Saadabad Palace in Tehran. He has led over 4 dozen public art programs and has conducted over 2 dozen calligraphy workshops and demonstrations including workshops at Fremont Main Library in California, University of Toronto in Canada, and masterclass at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow.
Shirinbab’s calligraphy and Poem-Painting artworks have garnered tremendous attention at galleries and museums and are acquired by museums such as the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow and private collections around the world. They have gained international attention among curators, critics, and collectors and have been published in several art journals such as Level 25 Artjournal and press articles such as Tehran Times. His arts have won several national and international awards, being chosen among hundreds of arts worldwide which proofs the originality of my works and creativity of his style. Among his awards are the 1st Place and Best of the Show Award for the 50 Shades of Gray competition by Focus Point & Shape Gallery, Special Recognition Award for My Art international competition from Art Quench Magazine 2013, and a $40,000 grant award as the leading artist and calligrapher from Creative Works Fund.
Rick Paulus: Former White House chief calligrapher
As White House chief calligrapher, Rick Paulus created invitations, menus and presidential gifts for heads of state and historical events around the world for close to twenty years. Rick continues his quest for the perfect letter in the coastal hills of Sonoma County. When not creating private commissions, invitations, menus and place cards for special events, Rick enjoys experimenting with a range of mediums from small works on vellum to large-scale beach calligraphy as large as 200 feet in diameter. Rick is a former Persian linguist and is excited to be participating as a demonstrator during Calligraphies in Conversation.
Elizabeth Nisperos: Multidisciplinary calligrapher reviving the lost Baybayin script of Philippines
Elizabeth Nisperos received an Outstanding Contribution award from FOC twice as coordinator (2001-2015) for Fort Mason Calligraphy Classes of Western Scripts (Roman Caps, Humanist, Uncial Italic, Rustic, Blackletter, Copperplate, Humanist, Quadrata). Growing up multilingual in Southeast Asia, she had exposure in Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese scripts. As Research Assistant on the Royal Orders of King Philipp II of Spain on education, she discovered an ancient script Baybayin at the Manila National Archives. In 2006-2007 she had a solo show at the SFPL International Center to showcase the Baybayin script for the National Geographic article, the Lost Alphabet of the Philippines. Currently she’s studying Hebrew and Aramaic scripts with Biblical scholars. She uses her calligraphy in paintings and to write poems, songs, prayers for community and church events.