Karim Slimi, an artist and calligrapher from Morocco, has been sharing the ancient art of Arabic calligraphy with French communities since arriving in France in 2000. Based in Marmande, a town in southwestern France, Slimi uses exhibitions and workshops to bridge cultural divides through his mastery of a craft that has been practiced for thousands of years.
Born in Fez, Morocco, Slimi was surrounded by calligraphy from his earliest days among the ochre and golden hills of the Maghreb region. "There was calligraphy in homes, in mosques, in mausoleums," explains the artist, who holds a degree in French literature and a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature and civilization. "I was quickly inspired by a man who did calligraphy. When I went to school in the morning, I always stopped in front of him to see what he was doing. It attracted me. I said to myself: How does he do that? I want to try too!"
To explore this art that sparked his curiosity as a teenager, Slimi began copying the pictorial letters found here and there, frozen on walls, radiating between shadow and light. He eventually took the next step and met what he likes to call "the masters of calligraphy." He experimented with classical calligraphy and Arabic calligraphy, developed his knowledge, and learned multiple styles. This broad range required an open, uninhibited spirit that went against established codes and demanded a long personal journey.
"Even today, I'm learning," he emphasizes. "We may master the style, but something is always missing. Each style takes years. Every day, I do calligraphy so I don't forget." When he arrived in France at the dawn of the year 2000, the Moroccan artist didn't want to confine himself to one calligraphy style and chose to move forward with his times. His stated and assumed goal, without looking away: to unite Moroccan and French cultures around calligraphy.
"I wanted to show my techniques and share this know-how through my art, my culture, and my country. Create a bridge between Moroccan and French cultures," Slimi explains. He puts this bridge into practice through his creations, exhibitions, and workshops in Lot-et-Garonne, his adopted homeland. "When I do an exhibition, I always try to pair it with workshops to share calligraphy with as many people as possible. Whether in Marmande, Tonneins, or elsewhere."
The calligrapher and visual artist doesn't need much: a table, paper, pencils, and his tools, starting with the calamus - made of bamboo or reed - which he carves himself. "In the art of Arabic calligraphy, we must master the art of carving the calamus, the art of preparing black ink (based on soot and gum arabic), and the art of preparing paper. When I have classes that come to meet me, children are always amazed and captivated," he savors.
Calligraphy remains an art that is "accessible and within everyone's reach," as he describes it. "I do Arabic calligraphy. But you can do Arabic calligraphy without being Arab. That's the whole nuance. I have an American friend who started Arabic calligraphy without speaking a single word of the language. He doesn't understand what he writes!" Everything is a question of practice, application, and reproduction for the calligrapher artist. Desire and creativity then guide, with attention to detail.
Asking him how long it takes to create a work proves to be almost a game of chance. "It can take me little time: fifteen minutes, a day, an hour... I can also tear up my papers if I miss a letter. But from the moment inspiration fails me, I can stop my work and resume weeks later. Sometimes I forget their existence," he admits.
A few years ago, with a backpack strapped to his back, he launched into light calligraphy (or light graff), a magical art that draws with words and light in space using light sources like flashlights or LEDs. Thanks to long exposure photography, luminous strokes and patterns are created, as if by magic. "It's an image that speaks. We put the camera on a tripod, we do some adjustment techniques afterward. Then, we let the light in. I do calligraphy in reverse while moving. It's a mirror. You should know that I count my steps with each letter. I put my dots, I come back, all while forming the letters. It's real tightrope walker work. It's a big open-air canvas for me and I'm having fun above all."
From Marmande to Lot-et-Garonne, passing through vacation spots by the ocean, Slimi sees light calligraphy as an immensely vast field of expression that he wants to capture and show on his social media. "I'm going to develop this art and broadcast it on my social networks to show that we can beautify the city of Marmande thanks to calligraphy at night."
Among his other projects is finding a local space in town soon to move his workshop from his apartment to a reception space that will also serve as an exhibition venue. Always with the fierce desire to share messages of peace, fraternity, and humanity. "These are the messages I want to highlight through calligraphy. Unite cultures. We are on this earth to live together. We are only passing through after all."
Slimi reveals a just words and a hidden passion for poetry that he mentions at the end of the conversation, somewhat reserved, for fear of intrusion, while expressing the desire to blend verses and calligraphy in a possible collection of poems in the future. "If a publisher wants to be interested in it," he hopes. Karim Slimi is a multifaceted calligrapher, like his art that handles all languages - a wonderful invitation to journey through cultures.
