Gateway to a Sacred Art: inspiring legendary masters
Online lecture series with Deniz Öktem Bektaş
September 19, October 17, and November 14
10 am - 10:45 am ET (Sept & Oct) and 9 am - 9:45 am ET (Nov)
Open to everyone | Recordings will be available for a limited time
Fee: $70 for all 3 sessions | $25 individual session
Course Description
Our fall lectures will focus on three influential Islamic calligraphy masters from the past and present.
We will begin with the life and legacy of Hasan Çelebi, one of the most distinguished representatives of Islamic calligraphy and a reviver of the art in modern times. He was a student of Hamid Aytaç, the last representative of the Ottoman school of calligraphy, and a venerated teacher who has taught and produced many notable and successful calligraphers in their own right.
From Istanbul to Washington, DC, our second lecture will focus on American master calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. Zakariya Hoca is one of the most recognized calligraphers of our time. He is the man who introduced Arabic script calligraphy to the Western world, an American pioneer and ambassador.
Our final lecture will focus on 20th-century master Emin Barin, an influential calligrapher, bookbinder, and graphic artist. He played a pioneering role in bridging traditional and contemporary art, redefining the concept of calligraphy in the Republic era.
Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Class Schedule:
September 19 (10 am- 10:45 am ET) - Hasan Çelebi: Becoming a Master Calligrapher to play a unique role in the revival of a traditional art.
October 17 (10 am - 10:45 am ET) - Mohamed Zakariya: An Exceptional Calligrapher and his significant services to the art of Calligraphy.
November 14 (9 am - 9:45 am ET) - Emin Barın: How An Extraordinary Calligrapher and Bookbinder Combined Graphic Design with Calligraphy to Create Modern Compositions
This course is ideal for anyone interested in Islamic art, history, and the spiritual beauty of the written word.
Recordings will be available for 36 hours after release.
Instructor Bio
Deniz Öktem Bektaş was born in Holland in 1976. She graduated from ‘İmam-Hatip’ high-school in Istanbul in 1994. After completing her studies at the Department of English Literature at Boğaziçi University, she continued her graduate work at Georgetown University in the U.S.A. While working on her masters at the Department of Communication, Culture and Technology, she met Mohamed Zakariya with whom she started calligraphy lessons in riq’a and naskh. Coming back to Turkey at the end of 2002, she continued to take calligraphy lessons with Hasan Çelebi and Davut Bektaş in the scripts of riq’a, naskh and thuluth. In 2007, she obtained her ijaza in the naskh and thuluth scripts. She received encouragement awards in naskh at the 7th International Calligraphy Competition organized by IRCICA in 2007 and at the Calligraphy Biennial in Sharjah in 2008. In the national calligraphy competition conducted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey (2015), she received 3rd prize in writing several pages from the Qur’an in the script of naskh. Mrs. Öktem has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and internationally, and continues her work alongside her husband, Davut Bektaş, in their studio in Istanbul.
For more information about her work, please visit her website: https://www.hattatdenizbektas.com/