Joumana Medlej

I'm an artist from Lebanon, known for my use of the Kufic scripts. In the course of my early career as a graphic designer and illustrator, I was invited to assist master calligrapher Samir Sayegh with his work. Through years of close collaboration in his studio, I learned the essence of Kufic, the origin of all Arabic calligraphy, and devoted myself to this art when I moved to London.
For over a decade, I have studied and revived these disused styles, and developed my own visual language out of them. I teach historical styles such as Manuscript Kufic and Square Kufic in the UK, and aim to create courses for other styles in this diverse tradition. I also work on rediscovering the inks and paints used in calligraphy and illumination during that same period, and authored a book on the subject.
Find me on twitter and instagram as @joumajnouna, and on Patreon.com/majnouna.