Brunei Darussalam International Islamic Calligraphy Festival 2024 was held on 16-17 October 2024 in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, as the outcome of cooperation conducted between IRCICA and Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah through its Islamic Arts and Calligraphy Studies Centre, with the collaboration of Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali and Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan. The inauguration ceremony of the festival on 16 October 2024 started with the welcoming speech of Pehin Haji Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. The festival was officially inaugurated by H.R.H. Prince ‘Abdul Malik, Chairman of the Committee of Governors of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. In his address, Prince ‘Abdul Malik highlighted the cultural and historical importance of Islamic calligraphy, noting its deep-rooted connection with Islamic civilization, and the need to preserve Jawi script, a key component of Islamic heritage in the country.
Following the address of H.R.H. the Prince, IRCICA Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç gave an opening address, in which he praised the cultural partnership between Brunei and IRCICA and commending their shared commitment to promoting Islamic calligraphy. Professor Kılıç spoke of the spirit and philosophy of Islamic arts that are embraced by artists across the cultures of the Muslim world. Following the opening addresses, a keynote speech was given by Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Hamza, expert in Islamic arts, Senior Lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, covering the history of development of the art of calligraphy and decorative arts, their different styles and applications.
The opening ceremony and keynote speech were followed by the inauguration of IRCICA’s exhibition of calligraphy, consisting of award-winning artworks from its international competitions held every three years since 1986. H.R.H. Prince ‘Abdul Malik visited the exhibition, and kindly accepted IRCICA’s album of winners’ works in its first ten calligraphy competitions (1986-2016) which was presented by IRCICA Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç. -An important feature of the festival was the announcement of the results of the “IRCICA Regional Calligraphy Competition for Asia 2024” which had been launched by IRCICA and the Yayasan in March 2024. The competition attracted 114 submissions from 12 Asian countries, including Japan, Pakistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan. Winners of the top prizes were from Indonesia in their majority. His Royal Highness presented awards to the top participants in the four categories: Thuluth, Naskh, Diwani, and Jali Diwani.
The festival program continued with applied workshops directed by the masters Efdaluddin Kılıç (Türkiye), Belaid Hamidi (Morocco-Indonesia), Haji Shahrol Azmi bin Haji Mulok (Brunei), Didin Sirajuddin (Indonesia), Seyit Ahmet Depeler (Türkiye), Burhanuddin (Brunei) and Adi Yusnira bin Haji Johar (Brunei) on calligraphy and Necati Sancaktutan (Türkiye) on illumination. Student groups from various high schools participated in the interactive workshops conducted by these teachers. The professor of illumination Mr. Necati Sancaktutan introduced the techniques and materials used in this art and assigned a sample motif to the students, then checking and correcting each work. Similarly, following theoretical introductions, the calligraphers Efdaluddin Kılıç and Seyit Ahmet Depeler conducted interactive applied workshops, for riq’a and diwani respectively. Master calligraphers from Brunei and Indonesia presented and explained their techniques and styles. Master Hamidi Belaid dealt with the educational aspect, explaining his own teaching method based on the experiences of his continuing instruction in Indonesia.
Great interest was shown to the festival by the participants and the Brunei press.
