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Elinor Aisha Holland
Category: Visuals
Calligraphy
Country: United States
About
Elinor Aisha Holland is an Islamic calligrapher from Pennsylvania. Growing up in a suburban neighborhood, Elinor longed to escape the doldrums of her town.1 Fortunately, a Turkish family invited her to stay with them in Turkey for a summer and she fell in love with the people and culture there. After seeing Islamic calligraphy, she immediately began learning the ancient art. In an interview with Azizah magazine, she recalled, “Instantly, I wanted to do it….I started learning the Arabic alphabet. My hosts were artists and they produced paper, ink and pens for me. I began copying things out of a book.”2
Over the years, Elinor took countless calligraphy classes and became a student of the famed calligrapher, Mohamed Zakariya. She also frequently travelled to Turkey, where she eventually adopted Islam as her faith.3 As an Islamic calligrapher, Elinor said that it is important to expose people to different kinds of art from around the world, especially from the Middle East. “There are so many people who have no idea that there is this beautiful art from that side of the world,” she said, adding sharing Islamic calligraphy has enabled her to become an ambassador of art to others.4 Elinor has taught numerous workshops in schools, museums, and university programs, and her work has also been highlighted in The Book of Sufi Healing and Believing Women in Islam.5
[1] Dujanah Descartes, “The Soothing Art,” Azizah, Volume 6, Issue 2.
[2] ibid.
[3] ibid.
[4] ibid.
[5] “About the Panelists: Elinor Aisha Holland,” HVCAA, 2007.
