Omani calligrapher to be jury at Delphic Games

MUSCAT — Omani artist and calligrapher Saleh Al Shukairi has been awarded a prestigious assignment. He has become the first Omani and the only Arab artist to receive a personal invitation from the organising committee of The 3rd Delphic Games 2009 in Jeju City, Korea, to be a member of the jury committee for the crafts, design and visual arts competition at the event. The 3rd Delphic Games 2009, in Jeju, which will be held from September 9 to 15 will see art competition in six art categories and 18 disciplines — music and acoustics arts, performing arts, craft, design and visual arts, lingual arts, communication and social arts, architecture and ecological arts under the motto Tuning into Nature. Some 1,500 participants from 40 countries will participate in the third Delphic Games to show off their cultural and artistic diversity. The Delphic Games was a competition of culture and arts among ancient city nations of Greece that ran for about 1,000 years from the 6th century BC to AD 394. The modern era Delphic movement was started by a German J. Christian B. Kirsch, who thought global cultural exchange will facilitate international understanding. Enterprising Thanks to his enterprising attitude, representatives of 18 nations founded the International Delphic Council (IDC) in Berlin, Germany in 1994. In the 3rd Delphic Games 2009 apart from being a jury committee member Omani artist Saleh Al Shukairi will also present an exhibition which will feature several of his new paintings that have received rave reviews for its innovative style and technique. Saleh’s presentation, titled ‘History of Arabic Calligraphy in Oman before 500 years’, will be a highlight of the event. Speaking to Times of Oman, Saleh Al Shukairi said, I am very honoured to be appointed as jury committee member at the event which will be held on the beautiful resort island of Jeju. Saleh Al Shukairi’s presentation has been translated into three languages including Japanese, Korean and English. “I am really excited and it will be a recognition for artists from this region,” he said. The 3rd Delphic Games 2009 is expected to create art exchange networks among various international art organisations and participating nations and Saleh is looking forward to it. “I hope to meet artists from different fields at the event. As we know it is intended to share the value of culture and exchange ideas,” Saleh added. Top artists in various genres from around the world will participate in the third Delphic Games. Ambassador “As an ambassador of Oman I hope to do jusice to my representation,” he added. The Delphic Games were named after Delphi, in Greece, where the Temple of Apollo stands. While the Olympic Games presented sports contests as a platform for military drills, the Delphic Games dedicated a cultural festival to Apollo, the deity of the sun, and featured various musical instruments such as the lyre, flute, ghitarra and songs, pantomime and drama. Prominent masters include French mime artist Philippe Genty; his wife and collaborator Mary Underwood; Mongolian morin huur (stringed instrument) player Tseyen Tserendorj; Korean folk play master Sim Woo-sung; French poet and critic Claude Mouchard; American typo designer Jill Bell; German architect Kristin Feireiss; and Japanese book designer Sugiura Kohei will hold maestro programmes including workshops and exhibitions during the event. The first Delphic Games was held in December 2000 in Moscow, Russia with participation from 27 countries followed by the second in September 2005 in Kuching, Malaysia, with participation from 21 countries.