In Canvas of Sound, Live Calligraphy Dances with Improvised Music

Description

Can you see music? Its musical sounds, flowing onto the canvas while it cascades into your ears?

Three artists hailing from Pakistan and Syria certainly think so.

Pakistani-born visual artist Tazeen Qayyum draws live, improvisatory calligraphy as Syrian-born Aga Khan Master Musician members Feras Charestan and Basel Rajoub shape a serene soundscape. Together, the trio turn visual art and music into a shared act of contemplation — where graceful strokes of Arabic, Persian and Urdu unfurl in real time, guided by the flow of ancient melodic modes meeting contemporary improvisation.

The musicians move between the shimmering timbres of the qanun (stringed box musical instrument), distinctive colour of the duclar (clarinet type instrument) and expressivity of soprano saxophone and percussion. Qayyum responds through four guiding words: amal (hope), karam (kindness), adl (justice) and silm (peace). Interestingly, each evening’s canvas is created in the moment, never to be repeated and will be displayed.

Curated by the Aga Khan Music Programme, the gallery edition premiered in December 2024 at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha. The stage edition drew an overwhelming response at the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival, and now arrives in Hong Kong for its Asian premiere — an invitation to slow down, look closely and find some inner peace.

Canvas of Sound takes place on 23 and 24 October at 20:00, with each one-hour performance (no intermission) followed by a meet-the-artist session.

The resulting canvases will be displayed on 24 October (10:00–22:00) and 25 October (14:00–21:00) at the Cultural Activities Hall, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre, with free admission.

Then, on 25 October 11:30–13:00, the performers will join renowned dongxiao virtuoso and Chinese calligrapher Tam Po-shek for a cross-media, cross-cultural exchange that includes a hands-on calligraphy workshop called Draw Your Canvas. Participants can also create their own works in response to live improvisation. Paid pre-registration required.