Young writers learn the ancient craft of the written word

Sharjah, 7 November 2017:  Sharjah International Book Fair is holding a calligraphy workshop to introduce children to one of the most artistic writing styles in history and give them hands-on experience of creating the letters and numbers for themselves.

Workshop leader Sachin Shah has been involved in writing and teaching calligraphy for 22 years and spent the hour-long session using brush-pens to help the youngsters create different strokes and characters with varying widths and angles.

“With so many electronic devices, writing is becoming something of a dying art,” he said. “But when children see writing as an art form, it takes on a whole new meaning and transfers itself into the desire to write with distinction and creativity.'

Asked to define the art of calligraphy during the lesson, some of the children from the North London Collegiate School in Dubai described it as “fancy and swirling”, “formal writing” and even “art with a twist” – very perceptive.

Sachin’s calligraphy workshop for 6 to 12-year-olds is being held in Hall 3 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, where the book fair is running until 11 November