By Lethbridge Herald on April 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-0426-Story-Arabic-Caligraphy_DSC5454-400x267.jpg\")
Herald photo by JOE MANIO
\nNasima Parker and her granddaughter Sarah work side by side on their Arabic calligraphy pieces during a workshop at the Main Branch of the Lethbridge Public Library Sunday, while other participants continue practicing in the background as part of Arabic Heritage Month
\nprogramming.<\/p>\n
By Joe Manio<\/p>\n
Lethbridge Herald<\/p>\n
By mid-afternoon Sunday, the Community Meeting Room at the Main Branch of the Lethbridge Public Library had settled into a quiet, focused rhythm.<\/p>\n
Heads bent over paper, pens moved slowly and deliberately, each stroke considered before it touched the page. Around a long table, 13 participants \u2014 12 adults and one nine-year-old \u2014 weren\u2019t just learning how to write. They were learning to pay attention.<\/p>\n
The Arabic Calligraphy Workshop, held as part of April\u2019s Arabic Heritage Month, offered a hands-on introduction to an art form where language is shaped as much by patience as meaning \u2014 where letters stretch, curve and connect to become something visual and architectural.<\/p>\n
Calgary-based artist and educator Dania Khairi guided the three-hour session, walking participants through Arabic script fundamentals \u2014 how letters change depending on their place in a word, how they connect, and how balance and proportion matter as much as spelling.<\/p>\n
For Khairi, the roots of that practice go back decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lived in the Middle East for over 20 years,\u201d she said. \u201cAs a kid, I used to see a lot of mosques with Arabic calligraphy\u2026 it just became a passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
What began as admiration grew into practice, and eventually teaching \u2014 not just technique, but culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Arabic calligraphy, you have to connect the letters,\u201d she explained. \u201cA letter can sound one way on its own, and another when it\u2019s part of a word. It\u2019s about how everything flows together.\u201d<\/p>\n
That idea of connection \u2014 between letters, people, generations \u2014 played out quietly across the room.<\/p>\n
At one table, Nasima Parker worked alongside her granddaughter, Sarah Syed, carefully shaping Arabic script as they practiced writing their names. Visiting from Vancouver, Parker said the workshop offered a chance to do something meaningful together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something for us to do together,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I wanted to perfect writing my name in Arabic.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Parker can read Arabic, writing it remains a challenge \u2014 one she was glad to revisit with her granddaughter learning beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good,\u201d she said. \u201cWe connected in so many ways, comparing and figuring things out together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nine-year-old Sarah was more direct.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just really wanted to learn how to write it,\u201d she said, adding that trying to \u201cperfect it\u201d was both the hardest and most fun part.<\/p>\n
Across the room, Lethbridge resident Rus Heggie signed up out of curiosity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just looked interesting,\u201d said the 53-year-old. \u201cI like learning about different cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n
While familiar with Arab culture through local events and community connections, the calligraphy offered something new \u2014 and familiar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has some similarity to brush strokes I\u2019ve seen in Mandarin or Japanese,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That kind of exchange is exactly what the workshop aimed to encourage.<\/p>\n
\u201cLanguage is how you communicate,\u201d Khairi said. \u201cAnd communication is the most important part of any culture. Writing and reading \u2014 that\u2019s how you connect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the afternoon, participants moved from practice sheets to final pieces on watercolour paper, many writing their names framed with simple decorative borders. The process required patience \u2014 slowing down, correcting, retracing \u2014 but the results carried quiet pride.<\/p>\n
Khairi said what stood out most wasn\u2019t just the work, but the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody was so nice,\u201d she said. \u201cVery friendly\u2026 they understood it so well.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pointed to Parker and her granddaughter working side by side as especially meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cTo connect like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The workshop was one of several initiatives marking Arabic Heritage Month in April, a time to recognize Arab culture through art, history and contribution.<\/p>\n
From Arabic numerals \u2014 the number system used worldwide today \u2014 to foundational work in algebra, astronomy and medicine, those contributions continue to shape everyday life.<\/p>\n
On Sunday afternoon, those ideas weren\u2019t presented in lectures. They were experienced more quietly \u2014 in careful strokes, steady focus, and a single curve placed just right.<\/p>\n
By the end, each participant left with a finished piece \u2014 a name carefully written, a small work of art \u2014 and a deeper appreciation for the script behind it.<\/p>\n
In a room defined not by noise, but by focus, writing became something more than practice. It became a way in \u2014 to a language, to a culture, and to each other.<\/p>\n
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