Beyond the Time by Turkish Artist Åžeyma Okur

Illumination works (tezhib) on view at Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the Cultural Affairs Department at the Sharjah Department of Culture has organised the 22nd edition of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival. SIAF will run until January 21, 2020.

Next to contemporary artworks, Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival presents also masters of traditional arts, such as calligraphy, tezhib (illumination), ceramic arts, book-binding arts, etc. The opening of the exhibition 'Beyond the Time' was attended by HE Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Department of Culture; Mohammed Al Qaseer, Head of Cultural Affairs and General Coordinator at the Department of Culture; and Farah Qassim Mohammed, Islamic Arts Festival Executive; in the presence of the artists, media and esteemed guests.

Turkish Artist Åžeyma Okur presents masterpieces with detailed illumination. It is a tradition that calligraphers join forces with the artists who create well-crafted decorations to complete the artwork. Most of her work presents various Quranic Surahs, such as Surah Al Ibrahim, 52 and Surah Al Ikhlas, both handwritten by master calligrapher Resul Afsin Okur.

Åžeyma Okur and Resul Afsin Okur with HE Abdullah Al Owais / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Åžeyma Okur and Resul Afsin Okur with HE Abdullah Al Owais and Mohammed Al Qaseer / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Resul Afsin Okur explains the artwork to HE Abdullah Al Owais / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Åžeyma Okur with HE Abdullah Al Owais, Mohammed Al Qaseer and Farah Qassim Mohammed / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Åžeyma Okur (1981) graduated from the Chemistry Department. Her passion for arts led her to study fine arts. She continued her academic studies at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University where she obtained her Masters in Illumination, under the supervision of Prof Faruk Taskale.

During her artistic career, she created remarkable artworks of exceptional visual language. In 2012 she received the illumination Allowance from Tiryaki. In 2018 she was awarded the 1st place in Illumination from the International Al Burda Award organized by the UAE Ministry of Culture.