Akil Ahmad

Akil Ahmad is a Syrian artist currently living in Beirut, Lebanon. He began studying and practicing calligraphy at a young age and later went on to graduate from the Faculty of Fine Art in Aleppo. He has exhibited his artwork across the globe and has received multiple awards including the Al Burda Award in 2018, which honors practitioners in three traditional Islamic arts - calligraphy, ornamentation and poetry.

“I am inspired by Arabic poetry, calligraphy, and the musical 'Maqams'. The latter means place or position. My work centres on these elements in addition to acrylic, ink, paper, and live performance.

For example, I convert the 'Maqam' from their audio pattern to an optical pattern in the spirit of abstract simplification of the Arabic letter. I strive through shape, colour, and overall art production to study and search for a specific state (love, hardship, struggle...) which I transform from a concept of language into a visual image. Primarily, when I hear a voice inside me, I try to hold all these moments of ecstasy and invert them into a letter, a word, an optical language. I am also interested in researching natural paper manufacturing and ink compositions.” - Akil Ahmad

"I strive through shape, colour, and overall art production to study and search for a specific state (hardship, struggle...) which I transform from a concept of language into a visual image."
Akil Ahmad

In this painting titled, Drowning, Akil draws inspiration from this poem by Palestinian poet, Ghayath Al Madhoun:

"Why do immigrants drown, and after breathing their last breaths, they float on top of the water? Why doesn't the opposite happen? Why does a person not float when he is alive and drown when he dies?"
Ghayath Al Madhoun

To see more from Akil Ahmad please visit his website and follow him on instagram.

Lebanon

Exhibition History

AWARDS AND PRIZES

- 2018 First Prize Award winner in “Global Burda” Award, 15th round, Abu Dhabi

- 2016 Fifth Prize Award winner in “Global Burda” Award, 13th round, Abu Dhabi.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

- 2021 Solo exhibition (maknun in many letters ) with Mrs. Fatina Al-Sayed (Curator) at Dar Al Funun gollery , Kuwait

- 2019 A solo Interactive exhibition within the events of the Arabic and German poetry festival in The Arabic library, Berlin

- 2018 Solo exhibition (Forty maqamt of Love) with Mrs. Fatina Al-Sayed (Curator) at Dar Al Funun gollery , Kuwait

- 2017 A solo Interactive exhibition “In the Presence of the Letter” at Dar El-Nimer for Arts and culture, Beirut, Lebanon A solo exhibition “Maqamat” in souk aldahab gallery, Downtown, Lebanon

- 2015 A solo exhibition “ From the heart we reach the sky” , City Theatre, Nuha al-Radi Hall, Beirut, Lebanon.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

- 2019 Participation in “Art for Al Balad” Auction with Christie’s, Saudi Arabia Collective exhibition in Belvedere Art Space gallery, Downtown, Lebanon

- 2018 Participation in «Beirut Art fair», Downtown, Lebanon Participation in A Charity Auction “ An Art Collection To Support Whom The World Calls The Lost Generation” with Taalim, London Participation in the “Sharjah Calligraphy” Biennial, Sharjah, UAE

- 2017 Participation in «Beirut Art fair», Downtown, Lebanon

- 2016 Participation in the “Sharjah Calligraphy” Biennial, Sharjah, UAE

- 2015 Collective exhibition in «Art on 56th» gallery, Beirut, Lebanon Participation in «Art Fair Bahrain”, Bahrain

- 2014 Participation in the “Sharjah Calligraphy” Biennial, Sharjah, UAE Participation in the International Contemporary Beirut Art Fair in «Artheum» gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

- 2010, 2009, 2008 Participation in “The Annual Exhibition”, Damascus, Syria