Join Mayo Street Arts for the reopening of the visual arts gallery at our theater! 
Art - Arabic Calligraphy - And Me features the paintings of visual artist, writer, teacher, performer, and activist, Kifah Abdulla.

Kifah Abdulla was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, where he studied art. Calligraphy in abstraction is a true inspiration to him, As an experimental artist, he wants his artwork to be different from all the other artworks around him.

Abdulla published his first book of poetry, Dead Still Dream in 2016, and his first memoir Mountains Without Peaks in 2020. He was a member of the Portland Public Art Committee (PPAC) and taught the art of Arabic calligraphy at MECA/CS. His recent exhibition “Alphabet City'' featured calligraphy in paintings at UNE art galleries. He is well-known for his art project “Rebel: Take Action.”  He uses art as a medium to talk on many social and environmental issues.

Friday, April 1 | Doors open at 6:00 PM; Opening remarks at 6:30 PM

Free to the public. Libations and light snacks will be provided.

The reception is at our theater located at 10 Mayo Street, Portland ME 04101.

ARTIST STATEMENT

When I was young in Baghdad, my eyes used to chase the Arabic/Islamic calligraphy in mosques, historical buildings, museums, and galleries. Later I was inspired by an aesthetic movement “Al-Hurufiyya” that emerged in the second half of the 20th century amongst Arab artists, who used their understanding of traditional Arabic/Islamic calligraphy within the precepts of modern art. I work hard to formulate my style, which sometimes seems rebellious.

I use the tradition of calligraphy to deconstruct the image-making potential form. I feel becoming freer and more experimental so I allow the calligraphic impulse to manifest in a more abstract cursive style.

My art plan of action is big. I desire that my results perhaps be unusual, unfamiliar to the point of looking peculiar and perplexing. I am experimenting in order to find my way around myself because there is no other roadmap, no other way to discover how best to navigate my own practice.

My abstract calligraphy is not highly decorative writing, but I count on the inherent energy and communicative potential of the Arabic letters, and I continue to find innovative ways to discover elemental calligraphic techniques in order to create new forms of mythical forms. To formulate my own style, which sometimes seems rebellious, I design my calligraphy by using gestures, line, energy, and sometimes I like them to be scribble or primitive. I have a great ambition to add and consolidate something unique in abstraction based on Arabic calligraphy.

Thumbnail:  A Poet with a Dreamer, acrylic on wood panel, 18" x 18"

Header: Detail of Surviving acrylic on wood panel, 18" x 18"