Nawaf Soliman accepts the ATFP Award for Excellence in Fine Arts
ATFP Sixth Annual Gala
October 19, 2011

First, I want to sincerely thank the ATFP team for their outstanding efforts to highlight the cause and contributions of Palestinians at large.

Also I'd like to congratulate my fellow awardees, Maha Freij, Hanan Munayyer (Great Book), and Mysoon Zaiyd.

I was born in Palestine and lived there for 7 years, enough to feel, as Edward Said, said "Out of Place). In 1990, I came with my wife to Washington DC from Kuwait. We've lived here since then and now have 3 kids.

I began my fascination with letters and calligraphy when I was about 10 years old in Kuwait. It started with Arabic and as I grew older and had the opportunity to travel to different countries, other scripts equally enchanted me. I realized that language is the first form of art invented. When I saw how a Chinese man would hold his brush and elegantly write strokes up and down.. when I first saw the Farsi Arabic Script which was formed from the shape of the Goose (Waza) or when the Othoman created the Diwani, I was amazed. It led me to understand the way these cultures are interconnected and how they’ve all influenced each other. Based on language and how it’s written.

John F. Kennedy once said, “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

Being a visual person, Arabic Calligraphy gave me a way to express myself and my ideas creatively. How did that happen? I am not sure. But, my feeling is that when you are exposed to dramatic situations, it fuels an urge to say something, to be vocal about your feelings. But Art often is political- there are many things that you can't easily express. I had to find a way to communicate these thoughts. I was deeply moved by phrases in Arabic from great writers like Al-Sayaab, Al-Motanabi, Darwish and wanted to spread their message.

Being an artist while I am Arab, Palestinian, American, in this day and age, it can be difficult to survive, let alone provide for a family. So I channeled some of my creative energies to commercial art, and working with many languages in the marketing industry. For the last 20 years, I’ve had to run an advertising agency that focuses on reaching ethnic communities Arabic-Russian-Chinese, etc. in multiple languages. It's a constant balancing act to give time to my passion and my work. I had a mentor (Mustafa Ben Nakhi) in Kuwait and locally Mohammad Zakaria who hashelped to me to continue to perfect this beautiful art of language. I’d like to thank Mustafa bin Nakhi and Mohammad Zakaria for their inspiration.

Truly, I do appreciate this honor.