Heritage Craft Workshop – Traditional Arabic Calligraphy

Through this multi-disciplinary, district-wide project, calligrapher Razwan Ul-Haq brings Bradford’s environment to life. Since 2024, Razwan has been extracting ink from our city’s resources – bricks from Bradford’s iconic architecture, soil from Bradford City Football Club, rocks and stones from the rivers of Bradford, and even certain plants. You can come in and view these pigments on the day, see the original pieces of art that were created from the inks and even see some of the video stories behind the project. There is also an Augmented Reality aspect to the works so don’t forget to bring your phone!

What to expect:

Join Razwan for a fascinating talk into the project and a hands on Nastaliq Arabic Calligraphy workshop, using bamboo pens and one of the hand ground inks sourced from Bradford. The workshop is suitable for absolute beginners as well as those who know Arabic. (Help will be available!) Razwan will also hold a talk on the diverse ways inks were made for traditional Arabic Calligraphy and how this has fed into his project. For adults and children over 11 (who will need to be accompanied by an adult). All materials provided and you are welcome to bring along a sketch book!