London, June 18, 2013 – NUQTA, led by award-winning graphic designer Mukhtar Sanders and professional calligrapher Soraya Syed, is the world’s first App linking designers, artists, calligraphers, researchers and enthusiasts using Arabic. Following on from a successful unveiling at Art Week in Dubai, the app and website project will launch at the Edge of Arabia in London during the Shubbak Festival, a window on contemporary Arab culture, on Saturday 29th June.
The event will open with Stephen Stapleton, founder of Edge of Arabia and the Crossway Foundation, followed by a short talk by renowned curator of contemporary Middle Eastern art, Venetia Porter of the British Museum. There will be a limited edition skin of the App available for attendees and live, interactive demonstrations will be on display. There will also be the opportunity to try out your calligraphy skills using reed pens and ink as well as take home a limited edition print.
NUQTA, meaning ‘point’ or ‘dot’ in Arabic, is the ultimate resource for those interested in calligraphy, typography and Arab culture. The London-based team behind the project has developed the technology to create a free knowledge-bank of high quality articles and photography, uploaded by anyone, from anywhere in the world.
Soraya Syed, NUQTA co-founder, explains:
“Words pervade our society. We are surrounded by words, by writing, expressed in calligraphy and typography, wherever we look: in advertising, art and publishing, on the streets, in movies and television, in graffiti and across the internet.”
“We’ve created NUQTA as a global digital resource for anyone with an interest in typography and calligraphy, from classically trained calligraphers to fine artists and graffiti artists to professional designers, scholars and researchers and enthusiasts – anyone who loves words and writing. Our long-term vision is for NUQTA to become the ‘Wikipedia’ of Arabic typography and calligraphy.”
“The application is simple,” said Mukhtar Sanders whose team developed the technology for NUQTA. “You take a photo of a piece of Arabic writing or calligraphy, give it a name and description, drop a pin (a “nuqta”) on the map indicating where you’re located and share your image with the world.”
Renowned Tunisian artist Nja Mahdaoui, otherwise known as an ‘explorer of signs’ and ‘choreographer of letters’ has been very supportive of NUQTA:
"The actual synergy of NUQTA lies in the universality of contemporary concepts within the meaning of Art - communication encompassing both living languages and innovations in interactive imaging. Which means that it takes a versatile dwelling between the cryptology of conventional electronic signs and creation of innovating logotypes - transcoded into new concepts comprised of resourcing graphemes and functional intersigns aiming at a plural culture, covering a multiplicity of images and constantly changing signs."
About NUQTA:
NUQTA is endorsed by the Khatt Foundation, Netherlands and is in partnership with Shubbak, a window on contemporary Arab culture, 22 June – 6 July, 2013.
The NUQTA App is free to download on iPhones and a release date for androids and tablets is scheduled for later this year. The website can be found at www.nuqta.com. At the beginning of the Shubbak Festival new features will be made available on the website, including an online photo library, user profiles and browsing versatility, by location, style and user.