Workshops
Twelve recorded classes and courses between 2014 and 2024 — two-hour cube workshops, school-holiday sessions, a two-day professional course, and a month of online classes.
The cube class
Everyone makes a wooden cube and decorates it, learning the basics of Arabic calligraphy, graffiti and woodwork at the same time. It runs about four hours, it works for ages ten and up, and it is the format institutions keep booking.
I designed and ran it myself in Coburg in 2016. ISRA booked it in 2018, the Islamic Museum of Australia later that year, and the Islamic Council of Victoria in 2019.
"In this hands-on workshop participants will make their own wooden cube while learning the basics of Arabic calligraphy, graffiti & woodwork." — Moreland City Council, 2016
Formats I have run
Fees are the ones charged at the time, kept here as a record of shape rather than a price list.
| Year | Host | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Darul Ulum College of Victoria | Student workshop, large collaborative panel |
| 2015 | School holidays | Calligraphy classes for children |
| 2016 | Moreland City Council | Four hours, calligraphy + graffiti + woodwork, Coburg North |
| 2017 | UMMA — United Muslim Migrants Association | Arabic calligraphy workshop, school-holiday program |
| 2018 | ISRA Melbourne | Six-week Advanced Calligraphy course |
| 2019 | My own six-week course | Term-length, ending January 2019 |
| 2018 | ISRA, Somerton | Two-hour cube workshop $25 at the time |
| 2018 | Islamic Museum of Australia | Public cube workshop, two hours, materials provided $20 at the time |
| 2018 | ISRA Australia, Sydney | Two-day calligraphy workshop |
| 2019 | Little Big Learners | School-holiday class, ages 10–16 $35, with $10 per ticket donated |
| 2019 | Islamic Council of Victoria | Two-hour public workshop, ages 10+ |
| 2019 | ISRA Centre, Auburn NSW | Two-day course, materials provided $145 at the time |
| 2019 | ISRA Melbourne | Glass painting calligraphy workshop — participants paint and frame their own |
| 2020 | Online | Go-at-your-own-pace classes $20 a month at the time |
| 2021 | YouTube | Short tutorials, starting with the pen free |
| 2024 | Arabic Language Centre Australia | Two hours at Northcote Library; each participant leaves with their own name written $150 at the time |
Ways in, from nothing to a full course
A colouring sheet
Free
A dense calligraphic pattern to print and colour in. I have been giving these away since 2019.
A pen
Cut by hand
Hand-cut bamboo qalams, sold cheaply. I made one from a chopstick in 2013.
A blank cube
Sold plain
The workshop object, sold unpainted for people who want to do it themselves at home.
A six-week course
Run in 2018 and 2019
Term length, with a cohort. I have run a beginners' course and an advanced one.
A booked class
For groups, schools and venues
Two hours to two days, in your space or a hosted one. Ages ten and up, children or adults.
I did the calligraphy and she did the colouring. The intention behind involving the girl in producing the artwork was to give her a sense of ownership over the piece. Shakeel Tariq, March 2017
The same idea runs through the colouring sheets, the blank cubes, the colour-in pieces made for children to finish, and the classes.