The 1st International Exhibition and Conference of the Silk Road Calligraphy- “Raqse-qalam”, was organized by the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and hosted by Mashhad Municipality. Artists from 30 countries have participated at the event.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition, held at great museum of Mashhad, was attended by Dr. Ashraf Boroujerdi, Advisor to the President and President of the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran, Dr. Hojatollah Ayoubi, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Mohammad Reza Kalaei, Mayor of Mashhad, Abdul-Ghafour Liwal, Ambassador of Afghanistan and Mohammad Ali Bagherzadeh Tusi, President of Mashhad’s Calligraphers Association.
At the opening ceremony, the messages of Mansour Gholami, Minister of Science, Research and Technology and president of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and Gholamhossein Amirkhani, Head of the Supreme Council of Iran’s Calligrapher Association, were read.
The exhibition will be held virtually from 1 January to 23 March 2021, with the presence of artists from 30 countries, and 234 works of art from different parts of the world will be showcased.
Request from Mashhad Municipality to buy works of artists / naming the aircraft of an airline after the famous calligraphers
At the ceremony, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, said: “I asked the managers of Mashhad, who are pioneer in preserving cultural monuments and do their best to turn Mashhad into a city of literature, to buy artists’ works of art with public funds and install the works on the wall of their office.”
He added: “In these hard times and the days when everyone is invited to stay at home and be inactive, in “Raqse-Qalam”, we are gathered together in the holy city of Mashhad, which is the identity of all of us Iranians and the beating heart of all Muslims.”
He added: “However, whatever we do is not enough for the novel arts, especially calligraphy, which is rooted in the culture and tradition of this region. By observing these works, you will realize that in the countries along the Silk Road, especially in the countries with ancient culture; they have taken the word to the sky and turned it into the highest and most valuable art. One of the main differences between Eastern and Western civilization is the art of calligraphy because in Eastern civilization, books and science have a high status and the heroes of this land include writers and intellectuals.”
Ayoubi said: “In my opinion, one of the reasons why poetry is part of our language is the art of calligraphy. One of the reasons is that calligraphers have written poems in the most beautiful and elegant way. If we want to go back to our roots, original arts, traditional arts, handicrafts, Persian carpets and calligraphy can help us.”
At the end of his speech, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO said: “Today, a memorandum of understanding was signed with an airline, according to which the aircrafts of this aircraft will be named after prominent artists and the works of Iranian artist will be showcased inside the aircraft.”
Valuable art of calligraphy is the spiritual heritage of our country
The mayor of Mashhad, Mohammad Reza Kalaei, stated: “I would like to thank the efforts of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO for gathering interested people in this field. The valuable art of calligraphy is the spiritual heritage of our country and in a way Iran is the capital of this art.”
The mayor of Mashhad said: “We hope that this inauguration ceremony, in a place which is located in kuhsangi by the efforts of heritage, tourism and handicrafts organization, will pave the way for other good events.”
The Silk Road is road for interaction of peace and friendship
The Minister of Science, Research and Technology in an audio message said: “One of the merits of this art festival is that more attention has been paid to the essence of the Silk Road. The Silk Road is not just a trade road but a crossroads of culture, art and knowledge, peace and lasting friendships, which are among the most important goals of UNESCO.”
Calligraphy provides a good capacity for communication between nations and the creation of relationships between human beings
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Mirtaja al-Dini, head of the strategic parliamentary group of parliament, said: “Cultural capacities among nations and cultural elements such as calligraphy-which are common among nations and exist in countries along the historic Silk Road- have good potentials for creating communication between the nations and human beings.”
Cultural diplomacy is more practical than political diplomacy in uniting nations
Ashraf Boroujerdi, Advisor to the President, emphasized: “We believe that cultural diplomacy is more practical than political diplomacy in uniting nations.”
