Callithon, the “first virtual global Arabic calligraphy event” received an overwhelming response of 700+ participant registrations from 21 countries. The Grand Finale of the event was viewed by 2000+ attendees from across the globe.
Spacewell Islamic Wall Art, which specialises in customised Islamic calligraphy wallpapers and signages organised “Callithon” to promote the classical art of Arabic calligraphy and to acknowledge the artists.
The competition had three categories of participants – Beginner, Intermediate and Professional, based on their exposure and knowledge of calligraphy.
Callithon is an annual event and intends to conduct calligraphy competitions in English and Arabic in the year 2021 with the same vision.
Callithon 2020’s Grand Finale was held on 18th October 2020 and was live streamed on YouTube and Facebook. It was addressed by renowned international calligraphers along with an award ceremony to felicitate the winners. An exclusive online expo was also aired, wherein the best artwork of participants from across the globe was made available for purchase.
The event hosted talks by International Speakers including Nuria Garcia Masip – a calligrapher from France and Siddiqua Juma – a contemporary Islamic artist from UK. A young researcher in Islamic arts- Fouzia Maraam from India was also a part of the event. The event was a celebrated moment with the announcements made for the Winners in the three categories. The Panel of Judges consisting of Prof Fuad Kouichi Honda from Japan, Master Mohammed Tarifi Kashti from Iran and Mr Abdul Khayyum Silawat from India played a prominent role in deciding the Winners.
“The selection of the Winners was done by maintaining anonymity of the Participants Name, Nationality and Gender and the finalists underwent a strict scrutiny through a Zoom Call where the Top 5 finalists of each Category redesigned a small element of their Artwork to prove the authenticity”, said Ikram Ahmed Khan, Founder of Callithon and Rabiya Kulsum, Co-Founder of Callithon.
The first, second & third prizes in the Professional category were bagged by Yaseen Hussain Dastageer from India, Muzaffar Bozorg Omid from Iran and Mohd Ghouseuddin from India respectively.
The Winners of the Intermediate Category were Haidar Anas from India, Fariba Foroutan from Iran, Muhammad Owais from Pakistan.
In the Beginners Category the winners were Vajihe Ali Mir Zaei from Iran, Nooha Abdul Nasar from India and Akram Erfanpor from Iran.
A Special Prize was also awarded by Callithon’s tech partner CollabDeen, for the most liked art on its platform in the Callithon community.
A total Prize money of 1 Lakh was awarded to the Winners from all Categories.
With Prestige Group as its title sponsor, Rehbar Financial Consultants as its platinum sponsor and few other sponsors namely Arius Holidays, Silverline Realty, Monarch Hotels, MyQalamShop, Humane Touch, CollabDeen as the Tech Partner and The Cognate as the media partner, Callithon has received an applaudable response not only from participants but also from the art lovers across the globe.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
