Faouzia Hilmy,
calligrapher
One of the few women Arabic calligraphers in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Faouzia Hilmy, French-Moroccan calligrapher, living in Paris.
One of the few women Arabic calligraphers in a traditionally male-dominated field.
French-Moroccan artist, born in the south of france, in Toulouse
After I got a masters in marketing I couldn’t find my direction in life and I spent many years searching for it. When I was 30, I went to the USA, because i wanted to discover America…
One day, while I was sitting on a bench opposite San Francisco Bay, I felt moved to pray: ‘Please help me find my way’. I prayed so hard that my prayer was answered. When I went back to France a miracle happened.
I was in a cafe when I saw an ad for Arabic calligraphy courses by a Syrian calligrapher. The next day I took my first lesson. It turned out to be a revelation for me. I was fascinated by the letters, with their complex yet harmonious forms . They reminded me of the Arabic lessons I had taken as a child and as a teenager.
From then on, the passion for this ancestral art will never leave me
I decided to drop everything and devotes all of my time and energy to learning arabic calligraphy.
It took me several years to learn it and it was very demanding, but I stuck it out and started a blog on the Internet while creating my first calligraphy artwork. The blog was successful; individuals and well-known brands started contacting me to create artwork and advertisements.
I began exhibiting in Toulouse and Paris before going to other countries : Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Dubai…
Today I collaborate with luxury brands like Hermes and Armani for projects in the Middle-East and I design logos for French and Arabic TV shows.
I became one of the few women Arabic calligraphers in a traditionally male-dominated field of activity.
What inspire me ? I have always been fascinated by the beauty of Arabic letters.
When I started to learn to read and write Arabic at the age of 6, in Toulouse, after school, I was immediately attracted by the shapes of the Arabic letters, so particular, so harmonious.
This admiration became a real passion when, much later, I started to learn Arabic calligraphy.
My calligraphies, with their sober style, are a way for me to express this fascination and to highlight these ancestral letters.
I feel a kind of affection for each of these letters that take shape under my hand and start to dance like characters with their own personality.
In my eyes, the aesthetics of these letters outweigh their meaning.
When I write calligraphy, my gesture follows my breathing, which allows me to give a spontaneous, pure, fluid and assured line.
I am at one with the kalam which glides over the paper and becomes an extension of my hand.
It is like a moment of eternity, a suspended moment.
For me, calligraphy is also a way to express a message of tolerance and brotherhood, themes which are important to me.