JEDDAH: The King Abdul Aziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) launched a series called “Year of Arabic Calligraphy” to celebrate the artistic practice of handwriting based on the Arabic alphabet. The activities and programs, held throughout the year at the center, will aim to promote Arabic calligraphy, shed light on its history and the stages of its development. It also will focus on its formation while highlighting its aesthetics through the different types of Arabic fonts. Events will include Arabic calligraphy courses, a light show, along with workshops focused on printing Arabic calligraphy by using different technologies, rare artistic products and manuscripts. The “Beyond the Pen” exhibition will comprise three different sections that highlight the value of Arabic text in the history of the region while celebrating Arabic literature, science, and the opinions raised by its writers. Ithra will also feature inscriptions of verses by 51 Arab poets of different eras using various types of Arabic calligraphy on 50 columns in the center’s library. The activities and programs were launched by the Saudi Ministry of Culture as part of the Vision 2030 Quality of Life Program.