Meet the Artists
Deniz Öktem Bektaş
Deniz Öktem Bektaş, born in Holland in 1976, graduated from İmam-Hatip high school in Istanbul in 1994 and pursued English Literature at Boğaziçi University, followed by graduate studies at Georgetown University, USA, in Communication, Culture, and Technology. She took up calligraphy, learning riq’a and naskh scripts from Mohamed Zakariya and later, alongside Hasan Çelebi and Davut Bektaş in Turkey, expanded to thuluth script. In 2007, she earned her ijaza in naskh and thuluth scripts. She won accolades in the 7th International Calligraphy Competition (2007) and the Calligraphy Biennial in Sharjah (2008), and a 3rd prize in Turkey's national calligraphy competition (2015). Öktem Bektaş has exhibited her work globally and continues her calligraphy alongside her husband in Istanbul.
Hikmet Barutçugil
In 1973, as a first year student at the Department of Textiles, School of Applied Industrial Arts, Barutcugil, while starting to study Hüsn-i Hat (Islamic calligraphy) under the guidance of his professor Dr. Emin Barın, first encountered Ebru, for which he quickly developed a burning passion. After receiving his degree in Textile Design in 1977, Barutcugil decided on career in Ebru and carried his interest to London, where he conducted his postgraduate studies in abstract art between 1978 and 1981. Barutcugil transfused progressive methods with the classical manners of Ebru and applied time-tested motives of this decorative art on a multitude of functional media, e.g. interior surfaces, gadgets, and clothes, thus introducing the majestic beauty to the general public. His technical trials resulted in a unique line of Ebru, now known by his name as Barut Ebru.
Muhammad Hobe
Muhammad Hobe was born and raised in South Africa, Johannesburg. He became a Muslim in 1991 and in 1994 he was sent to Waterfall Islamic Institute where he studied Islamic studies, completed his hifz (memorisation of the Holy Quran) and developed an interest for Arabic calligraphy. During his earlier years of teaching at Waterfall Islamic Institute he met Turkish calligrapher Hilal Kazan who, on recognising his skill and efforts, encouraged and assisted him in travelling to Istanbul, Turkey to study under the Turkish master of calligraphy, Hasan Çelebi. Muhammad began his apprenticeship with Master Hasan Çelebi in 2009 with the help of IRCICA and on completing his tuition, obtained the Ijazah (license/diploma) in the Thuluth and Naskh scripts in 2013.
In March 2017, he was awarded citizenship by the Turkish government due to his dedication to his work in the Islamic arts. Muhammad has since continued to work as a professional calligrapher, participating in numerous exhibitions both in Turkey and internationally, as well as passing on his knowledge of calligraphy to his own students.
Mardiyah Hobe
Mardiyyah is a British artist and graphic designer who has spent the past decade honing her skills in the traditional Islamic Arts. Her exploration of Islamic geometry began in 2015 at the Princes School of Traditional Art in London. Since then, she has participated in numerous courses and engaged in extensive self-study to analyse and grasp Islamic geometric patterns. In 2020 Mardiyyah moved to Istanbul to continue her traditional calligraphy training with master calligrapher, Efdaluddin Kılıç and subsequently began studying the art of tezhip, or Islamic illumination. Mardiyyah’s creative process reflects her lifelong interest in the world’s wisdom traditions. Her fascination in colour theory compelled her to learn the traditional methods of making paint from natural Earth pigments, drawing inspiration from the harmonious colour palettes found in the natural world.
BOSNIA
Munib Obradović
Munib Obradović is a Bosnian calligrapher trained in the Ottoman tradition of Islamic calligraphy. He studied Arabic language, Islamic sciences, and calligraphy in Cairo at the Halil Agha Academy, where he mastered the six classical scripts of Islamic calligraphy. He also studied privately under the distinguished Egyptian calligrapher Mus‘ad Khudair al-Borsaidi, from whom he received an ijazah (license) in calligraphy.
Obradović has won an award at the prestigious international IRCICA calligraphy competition in Istanbul. He is the author of numerous calligraphic inscriptions, including the calligraphy on the clock tower in Mecca.
Edib Rašid Huseinagić
Edib Rašid Huseinagić is a Bosnian calligrapher, ebru artist, and a graduate conservator-restorer. He studied calligraphy under the Bosnian master Ćazim Hadžimejlić, a student of the Istanbul-based calligrapher Hasan Çelebi, from whom he later received a calligraphic ijazah (license). Huseinagić works in several classical scripts and is also active in the art of ebru.
His calligraphic works and inscriptions are found in numerous private collections and mosques, and have been exhibited in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad.
Selma Pandžić
Selma Pandžić is an art historian and curator at the Museum of Islamic Culture and Art in Sarajevo. She graduated in Turkish Language and Literature from the University of Sarajevo and completed her postgraduate studies in art at the Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Tehran. Her work focuses on Islamic art, particularly tezhīb (illumination) and traditional ornamentation.
She collaborates with various cultural and educational institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and participates in projects related to Islamic artistic heritage and museum practice.
