Sharjah Museums Department helps enrich participants’ knowledge of Islamic art and traditional education

As part of its special monthly educational programs, the Department of Education and Interpretation at Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) has recently organized two workshops for adults which received a huge response from the public. 

The Department said it would organize specially designed programs for adults in the next month with the aim of enriching their knowledge of their rich heritage and history. 

The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization hosted a workshop titled “The perfection of Islamic Art” presented by the artist Mohammed Jafar. The workshop aimed to teach its participants how to identify various glass drawing styles by drawing geometric shapes in Islamic art. 

The participants were also taken on a tour at Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization where they viewed the paintings displayed at the exhibition hosted recently ‘Owen Jones: Islamic Design, Discovery and Vision’.

At the end of the tour, the participants engaged in making their own paintings by drawing on glass, inspired by the aesthetics and mastery of Islamic art, as they used what they learnt about Islamic art and the importance of drawing on glass in shaping contemporary paintings. 

Another workshop was hosted by Al Eslah School under the title ‘Traditional Education in the UAE’, which was presented by Mr. Fuad Al Kahtani.

Al Kahtani gave a lecture on the traditional education and teaching methods in the UAE in the past and the development of the educational system from the traditional educational system, known as ‘katateeb’ through to our current modern system. 

Participants in the workshop got the chance to learn about the principles and teaching methods of the traditional system. The workshop also highlighted the social and educational life within the UAE and the development the country has seen. 

Following the lecture, the participants engaged in making a specially designed colourful cover in which to keep a copy of the Holy Quran. The participants also got the chance to see the old classrooms at Al Eslah School and learnt about the history of education in the UAE where they could get an indication of a day in the school life of their grandparents would have been. 

The Department has commented that these workshops were not the only of their kind to be organized, and that more educational workshops would be held throughout the year. The programs are scheduled so as to be available to everyone at convenient timings.