Khatt

Basma Hamdy is a research-based designer, author and educator. Currently Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Hamdy earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently a candidate at PhDArts: Leiden University and The Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Netherlands. Hamdy has exhibited and spoken at several international art and design festivals and conferences such as Duke University's Arts of the Revolution, Spielart Festival Munich and The Graphic Design Festival Breda. Her publications include Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution. basmahamdy.com

Egyptian cities and villages abound with an enormous wealth of khatt, or calligraphic script, ranging from casual scrawls and scribbles to elaborately-painted colourful murals. These historical and contemporary versions of urban lettering, varying in surface, medium and technique, adorn mosques, shop-fronts, houses, trucks, boats, schools, tuk tuks and walls. They are records of human existence, documenting expressions of hope, fears, dreams and anxieties. Featuring beautiful and unique examples of these written expressions, Khatt is an extensive visual documentation of the found typography and calligraphy in Egypt, a calligraphy hub that possesses a rich tradition of education and production in the field. This timely volume records the traditional craftsmanship of hand-painted calligraphy, which is in decline because of the digitization of the Arabic script. Spanning cities across Egypt, and highlighting the history of language in the country and the progression into the Arabic script, Khatt is a rich visual source-book, vital for designers, artists and enthusiasts.

Bringing together over 200 colour photographs, this is a beautifully produced source-book, vital for designers, artists and calligraphy enthusiasts.

Foreword by Huda AbifaresMessages and Meaning by Noha Zayed & Basma HamdyCairene Visual Culture by Ahmad HammoudTrucks: A Moving Canvas by Noha ZayedSemiology of Arabic Letters by Muhammad El MahdyInterview: Perception with ElseedInterview: The Bronze Inventor