Audience watch in awe as Saudi, Japanese calligraphers create art

THE Japanese Embassy and Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts (SASCA) jointly held a demonstration of calligraphic art at the Riyadh branch office of SASCA recently. Oson Ito, who has been practicing Japanese calligraphy for more than half a century, impressed the attendees beyond the language barrier by her energetic performance of the lettering art. Nasser Al-Maymoon from the Saudi side represented Arabic calligraphy and the visitors carefully watched his trait at every delicate stroke. The two artists paid tributes to each other by exchanging their works. They collaborated to write words such as friendship and horse in their own styles that represented their cultural affinity. The audience appreciated the harmony between the great artistries of both traditions. Ito said once she thought that calligraphy had not been adequately appreciated like other visual arts such as painting. She said she strongly believes that the lettering of a meaningful word has an intrinsic value that other visual arts cannot share. Ito said she decided to devote herself to cultural exchange through art and here in Riyadh, she tasted the great joy of finding the bond and affinity between Japan and Saudi Arabia through her passion, which is calligraphy. The Japanese Embassy in Riyadh has promoted cultural exchange between the two countries, and most recently on the occasion of Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s visit to Japan, it exchanged a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information for enhancing cultural cooperation between the two countries in line with Saudi Vision 2030. — SG