7Berkeh: A calligraphy exhibition, featuring selected works by Mohammad Tamiz and Mohammad-Javad Akbari, two masters of Persian calligraphy (called Nasta’liq in Persian) from Gerash; along with pieces from twenty-three top-tier calligraphers, trained by Master Alireza Tal-Jangani, who are now recognized at the highest professional level, is held from December 11th to 16th, 2025 in Gerash. The exhibition also puts on display a top work by Master Tal-Jangani, as both the guest and the host of this artistic event.
“I am at ease knowing that if I ever worried about the future of calligraphy, today I can say with confidence that this generation will continue for at least the next fifty to sixty years”, Tal-Jangani asserted in his interview with 7Berkeh News Agency.
Tal-Jangani; the Prominent Iranian Calligrapher in his Second Trip to Gerash
According to 7Berkeh, Ali-Reza Tal-Jangani, the prominent Iranian calligrapher, was the special guest of the exhibition, who takes part in the exhibition with an outstanding work. He is one of the well-known scholars in Persian-Islamic calligraphy, and has been a student of renowned masters such as Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani and Ali Shirazi. He was born in December 1970 in Shiraz, and has learned calligraphy sine childhood. He holds the master license from Iranian Calligraphers Association as well as the Superb Badge of Art from Ministry of Culture. As one of the founders and the editor-in-chief of “Kelk-e-Dirin”, the art journal, he has also written articles and notes regarding research in calligraphy in this journal. Master Tal-Jangani holds an extensive record of both solo and group exhibitions in Iran and other countries. He is currently the director of Selk Art Institute in Shiraz. Check his Wikipedia page, here.
He traveled to Gerash in 2008, to hold some workshops in the first-grade and superb levels for calligraphy students. After eighteen years, he travels to Gerash again to join this artistic event and to hold another workshop.
“Calligraphy Would Last in Gerash by Distinguished Masters”
This time, 7Berkeh interviewed him exclusively. He appreciates the growing process of calligraphy among the masters in Gerash. “This process is not comparable to twenty years ago, at all. At that time, when I started teaching in this region and Gerash, the students had just completed the advanced levels. Now, each of them has become an experienced and highly distinguished instructor, and in their respective fields, they are highly experienced masters, who have taught a large number of graduates,” Tal-Jangani asserted in his interview with 7Berkeh News Agency.
“Persian Calligraphy is the Remedy in Today’s Rushed World”
He also pointed out to the comprehensive and multifaceted consolatory influence of Persian calligraphy on other aspects of life as well as the intellectual development of a child, “I believe that we ought to attend to other aspects of calligraphy as well. If we expect our children to be organized, if we want to create the connection between a child’s brain and his / her hands properly, and a logical thinking for a child, these are all the aspects which can be attained through Persian calligraphy. However, when we talk about this art, we think solely about the beauty of the sentence we are composing, whereas the indirect effects of this art are much greater. In some countries they teach the children an aural art like music along with a handicraft in elementary school to develop their intellectual power.”
Master Tal-Jangani believes in the healing power of Persian calligraphy as an eight-hundred-year inheritance in our roaring and chaotic world and affirms its importance in the growth of children, “we have the art of Persian calligraphy with an eight-hundred-years history that has worked out so far. If children spend some hours during the week writing with a pencil, it would truly have some positive bearings on the other fields of their lives. Calligraphy would assist a person in every field. Additionally, in today’s crowded world, where the manifestations of technology are assaulting us from every corner, it preserves our roots in tradition and ensures that they remain in tradition. It acts as a form of therapy and a remedy for tolerating and escaping the rushed modern world”, he stated.
Establishing a Museum of Contemporary Arts in Gerash
In another part of his interview, Tal-Jangani recommended a museum of contemporary arts in Gerash be established as a way of highlighting the cultural identity of the city and bringing its name into national and international bulletins, “establishing a museum would be a lasting work, as long as its facilities exist in Gerash. What is in my mind, is a museum of contemporary arts in the field of visual arts, which can be helpful. When a traveler enters Gerash, he can visit the museum and watch the works permanently.”
Majid Afshar, the photographer of 7Berkeh News Agency, has captured some captivating shots from this calligraphy exhibition, which will be the visual ending of this report.
This is a translation of a Persian article. See the full article here.
