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Kufic Calligraphy with Joumana Medlej
16 April '26 at 6:00 pm - 25 April '26 at 5:00 pm
Joumana Medlej is an artist from Lebanon whose connection with early Arabic calligraphy was awakened by years spent working with master calligrapher Samir Sayegh in his Beirut studio. She specialises in the Kufic scripts, roughly corresponding to the Abbasid era, and in the materials of the time, having abandoned store-bought paints for the old ways of natural colour-making. She studies both scripts and art technology directly from primary sources, and is now drawing on her practitioner’s experience to translate medieval Arabic manuals and bring the voices of past masters to a general audience.
Joumana has pieces in private and public collections from California to the Middle East. She teaches Kufic calligraphy at the Arab British Centre and related workshops in various institutions.
Manuscript Kufic Calligraphy (In Person Course)
16 April - 25 April '26 | 4 Classes | Fee: £300
For additional details please click here.
Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Dates: 16 April '26 | 18 April '26 | 23 April '26 | 25 April '26
Immerse yourself in Manuscript Kufic, an early style of Arabic calligraphy that flourished during the Abbasid “golden age”. This course is based on the finest example of this architectural and spacious Qur’anic script which fell out of use almost a millenium ago. Under Joumana Medlej’s guidance you will learn to use the pen and gallnut ink associated with this style. The course then covers the complete script grammar, starting with each letter individually before showing how how they combine together. You’ll practice with short sentences before designing and writing a short finished piece of your own, complete with red vowel marks and golden punctuation.
The course will leave you equipped to continue practicing in the historical tradition, or to explore in more personal directions. All materials are provided, and you can take your pen and ink home in the end.
Sessions breakdown:
Thursday 16 (online, 18:00-20:00): Historical introduction and some groundwork
Saturday 18 (in-person at the Arab British Centre, 10:00 to 17:00 with lunch break): Writing the letters
Thursday 23 (online, 18:00-20:00): Introduction to the script grammar, historical layout and variant scripts
Saturday 25 (in-person at the Arab British Centre, 10:00 to 17:00 with lunch break): Writing words and sentences; finished piece
Our Refund Policy
Our courses rely on meeting minimum numbers to run, and are often over-subscribed, so the sooner you let us know you’ve changed your mind the better. We can then open your place up to someone else. Our rules on refunds are:
100% refund if you let us know up to 2 weeks before the start date of the course
50% refund if you let us know 8-13 days before the start date of the course
No refund if you let us know 1 week or less before the start of the course