Abdelrahman Elshahed

Chain of Knowledge

Abdelrahman Elshahed was born in 1993 and raised in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He learned the art of calligraphy in the city’s Haram Mosque, receiving his certificate (ijazah) in 2012. He taught calligraphy in the Haram Mosque, lectured, and gave several workshops in the field of Islamic art, before obtaining a master's degree in architecture from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, in 2021. He has since worked as a creative director and organizer of exhibitions and artistic programs. He served as consultant for the “Year of Arabic Calligraphy,” an initiative launched by the Saudi Ministry of Culture in 2021. His artistic practice focuses on Arabic calligraphy as “spiritual geometry,” expressing key human values. Arabic letters and architecture are important tools of communication in his artistic discourse. 

Elshahed designed one of the largest calligraphy portals in the world, displayed at the Jeddah International Book Fair in 2016. He has held three solo exhibitions, most recently KAAF. LAAM. MEEM. at Hafez Gallery, Jeddah (2022). He has also participated in many local and international exhibitions, including the Jax Arts Festival, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia (2022);Scripts and Calligraphy: A Timeless Journey, Saudi National Museum, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi Art (2021); and Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (2019).