In praise of the past, present and passion of the pen

While Arabic calligraphy is firmly rooted in tradition, many of the projects bearing the name of the renowned British calligrapher and artist Soraya Syed confirm that this ancient field of art offers plenty of potential for contemporary and creative interpretation.

Syed’s 2023 show, titled ‘Sound & Silence’, which premiered in her hometown of London at The Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill, is one such example. Groundbreaking in approach, it celebrated Arabic calligraphy through both digital and physical media, while also introducing immersive and interactive elements into the mix. Aside from having the opportunity to view the artist’s work, completed in a diverse, innovative range of materials that spanned carbon ink recaptured from mopeds and white Carrara marble dust and resin, traditionally reserved for sculpture, visitors were also invited to try their hand at creating their own calligraphic shapes. These activities, which included an immersive magnetite ink installation, were relayed live on a nearby screen and set against a dynamic backdrop of light and soundscapes. 

An Arabic calligraphy-focused show with a difference, undoubtedly, but then, Syed has never been afraid to push boundaries in a field of art that still retains its strong associations with the past. “From the outset, I didn’t conform to the usual route for a calligrapher,” she admitted with a smile. “After several years of receiving my licence, I lost interest in working in isolation. Instead, I wanted to share the passion I have for calligraphy far and wide, which I knew would involve going down a different path.”

That passion can be traced back to Syed’s teenage years, when ceramic objects, showcasing exquisite calligraphy writing, caught her eye during a visit to the V&A Museum, London. “I’d already made up my mind that art was what I wanted to do and we often visited galleries and museums as a family, but when I saw this calligraphy work for the first time, it really jumped out at me,” she said. “The black, elongated strokes seemed so attractive and powerful. I felt like they were saying something I couldn’t understand and urging me to explore the art of calligraphy further. Years later, a tutor told me that the letters choose you, you don’t choose them, and I’ve always remembered those words.”

Recognising that she would now need to learn Arabic, Syed applied to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where she studied Arabic and the History of Art and Archaeology. In addition, she later gained an MA in Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts at the Prince’s (now the King’s) Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London.

During her postgraduate studies, Syed also took an Islamic calligraphy apprenticeship in Istanbul, Turkey, where she was taught by the renowned calligraphy masters Efdaluddin Kılıç and Hasan Çelebi. Impressively, in 2005, she became the first Briton to be awarded the prestigious ‘ijazah’ (licence) from her tutors to practice the art of calligraphy, receiving her award at the majestic Yildiz Sarayi Palace.

Returning to her life in London, Syed quickly realised that reconciling the traditions of calligraphy with her own approach to art could prove to be something of a balancing act. “Traditionally, when calligraphers gain their licences, they build their practice by entering prestigious competitions and using these and other achievements to attract students, but this didn’t appeal to me at all,” she explained. “For me calligraphy speaks by coming off the page and I wanted to explore ways of making this happen and sharing it with others.”

She was also confident that calligraphy as an artform had both resilience and the ability to adapt for new audiences. “Traditionally, it mostly served a practical function, being popular for business logos, wedding certificates and text for headstones, for example. But I’ve always felt that as a language, it holds great relevance and can keep evolving,” she said.

“It’s important for me to stay true to my purpose and vision, and hope that it serves and is relevant to my local community, as well as the wider one.”

Those changes have involved embracing new media such as digital animation, with Syed confident that old and new can coexist harmoniously. “I’ve never set out to deliberately make calligraphy a contemporary medium - everything I’ve done has come very naturally to me,” she stressed. “I also see media like virtual reality (VR) as additional tools that are revolutionary, just as paper once was too - other ways to present ideas - and certainly not ones that will replace the reed pen.”

These ideas were clearly in evidence in 2013, in what Syed recognises was a landmark collaborative project, which included a solo show of her work, titled ‘Hurriyah’ (‘Freedom’). Held at Leighton House Museum, ‘Hurriyah’ was described as a calligraphic exploration of freedom through animation and dance, performed by Salah El-Brogy, and set to music by Nitin Sawhney. “It was a transformative journey and I never turned back,” Syed reflected.

Pushing creative boundaries though collaboration and innovation, it would set the scene for future initiatives that have ranged from landmark solo shows to high-profile commissions.

These include 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, which was exhibited in 2016 at the RSC and the Barbican, London. Other career highlights include creating a square Kufic design for the brickwork on the New Cambridge Mosque, which opened in 2019, and  merchandise for museums ranging from the British Museum to the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar. Her projects have also often taken the form of collaborations, including creating the calligraphy designs for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Charter of Gold medal award in 2019 with design agency Interstate, and a privacy screen for City University’s prayer room with US artist Jennifer Jackson.

In 2019, Syed debuted her first live-action narrative film, a collaborative project titled ‘Majnun’, featuring dance and calligraphic poetry with music again composed by Sawhney. She has also featured in a documentary herself, titled ‘The Colour of Ink’ (2022), which explores the artistry involved in bringing unique inks made from natural ingredients by ink-maker Jason Logan, to life. 

Syed’s projects this year have included taking part in a show titled ‘Harmonies of Home: Artistic Threads that Bind Us’, at Cromwell Place, London, which intertwined diverse artistic threads from a tapestry of realms across south-west Asia, north Africa and their diasporas. She also recently gave a course to calligraphy students – a requirement for calligraphy experts aimed at ensuring that the chain of transmission (‘Silsila’) continues. Other projects in the pipeline range from preparing a pitch for a light festival to creating 3D sculptures in experimental materials. She is also currently preparing to take part in exhibitions in Cambridge and Taiwan. “Ideas just come to me,” she admitted with a smile. “I’ve never not had an idea. Fortunately, it’s always been like that, powerful openings that cannot be ignored and feel like they should come to some sort of fruition.”

View Soraya Syed's artworks on Artscoops