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Soraya Syed

Soraya Syed (b. 1976): A Pioneering British Calligrapher

Early Life and Exposure to Art in London and Paris

Soraya Syed is a classically trained, pioneering calligrapher and artist who was born in London, UK. She was exposed to art from an early age, when she was taken to galleries and museums in London and Paris. As a teenager, she was introduced to Arabic calligraphy featured on exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which fuelled a desire within her to discover more about this language and specialist field of art.

Academic Pursuits: SOAS and Traditional Arts

Syed studied Arabic and History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, later also gaining an MA in Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts at the Prince’s (now the King’s) Foundation School of Traditional Arts.

Apprenticeship and Mastery in Istanbul

During her postgraduate studies, she took an Islamic calligraphy apprenticeship in Istanbul, Turkey, where she was taught by the renowned calligraphy masters Efdaluddin Kılıç and Hasan Çelebi. In 2005, Syed became the first Briton to be awarded the ‘ijazah’ (licence) from her tutors to practise the art of calligraphy.

A Modern Approach to Ancient Arabic Calligraphy

Over the years, Syed has carved a niche as an artist known for making the ancient art of Arabic calligraphy accessible, using her creative skills to introduce it into the mainstream contemporary art scene across a wide range of disciplines and in collaborative projects spanning film, animation, dance, VR and three-dimensional sculptures.

In the words of Professor Sussan Babaie, The Courtauld Institute of Art: “Soraya Syed, inspired by the dynamic qualities of the Arabic script, deploys every capacity in her body and soul to inhabit, embody, and surface for the viewer the inherent complexities of the experience of writing as it navigates between sound and silence, between movement and meaning.”

Key Exhibitions and Artistic Projects

Syed’s work has been exhibited extensively and commissioned for a diverse range of projects spanning the arts. Recent shows featuring her work include: ‘Harmonies of Home: Artistic Threads that Bind Us’, Cromwell Place, London (2024); ‘Sound & Silence’, an interactive and immersive exhibition for the Shubbak Festival at the Coronet Theatre, London (2023); and ‘Making Paradise’ Aga Khan Centre Gallery, London (2021/2022).

Notable Cinematic Projects, Commissions and Collaborations

In 2019, Syed debuted her first live-action narrative film, a collaborative project titled ‘Majnun’, featuring dance and calligraphic poetry with music by composer Nitin Sawhney. In 2022, she featured in a documentary herself, titled ‘The Colour of Ink’, spotlighting Toronto ink-maker Jason S. Logan, while her professional journey was the subject of a short film by Google named ‘Google: Soraya’s Story’ in 2018.

Recognition and Contributions to Islamic Art

Syed has achieved several professional milestones in her career. These include creating a crown, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), featuring the quote ‘This sleep is sound indeed’, from Henry IV, Part 2, in Diwani script. The piece was exhibited in 2016 at the RSC and the Barbican, London.

Soraya Syed's Impact on Contemporary Art and Calligraphy

Other highlights include creating a Square Kufic design for the brickwork on the New Cambridge Mosque, which opened in 2019, and producing the words ‘love’ and ‘peace’ in Diwani script for British Museum merchandise as accompaniments for their exhibition ‘Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam’ (2012).

Her commissions also include: ‘Meetings with Mountains’ (Prayer of Love); Charter of Gold, Bahrain (2019); City, University of London (2018); Google Qalam (2018); Bradford Museums, UK (2015); and Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar (2013). Syed currently works from her studio in West London.