Let Letters Become Art

An Invitation To Create

Callifest is a basket of events dedicated to the preservation, documentation and enhancement of calligraphy in Indian scripts and languages. It is also a platform where Indian calligraphers can interact and display their creations.

Callifest 2027 has a special exhibition to encourage artists in exploration of calligraphy in both the traditional and contemporary forms. It offers a canvas to experiment with new approaches, innovative techniques, think freely, go beyond conventional formats and set new precedents for the emerging generations of calligraphers.

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Themes of Callifest 2027

We invite original works from India's talented calligraphers to be displayed at Callifest. The themes for this year are as shown. You can choose one or combination of Indian scripts for your work. We request you to understand the themes and create accordingly.

Submission Guidelines

01. Nature

Discover the Visual Language of the Natural World

Nature is always glorious and colourful. Every tree, creeper, animal and landscape displays the generosity and creativity of Mother Nature. The sights, the sounds, the flora and fauna have been inspiring generations of artists, poets and writers. We urge you to dip into this vast pool of moods, colours. words, shapes and echoes to create unique calligraphic works.

02. Navarasa

Navaras (The Nine Essences / Nine Emotions)

The everlasting effect of a dance performance, the impact of a riveting scene, the feelings evoked by a song or music piece, the peace of a Mantra chanted serenely, convey one of the 9 fundamental emotions / essences together called the This theme encourages to create expressive calligraphy using the contours of letters, techniques, tools and the play of dimension to create compositions that convey Rasa / emotion through your penmanship.

03. Music & Calligraphy

Calligraphy has the power to infuse life into static words, letters and symbols. The flourishes and strokes have rhythm and movement that can be equated to the everlasting sound waves in music. The emotions evoked by them can be mirrored in calligraphic compositions. Choose a song, a poem, a piece of music and use your craft to bring it alive in your painting.

04. Graffiti

Make your presence felt, create a unique mark and explore new styles with Calligraphy in a Graffiti avatar. Calligraffiti is when the classical and traditional beauty of Calligraphy meets the candid, democratic expressions of a Graffiti to create a stunning visual art. Abstract or legible, this theme allows you to explore the nuances of both the art forms, experiment with layering and much more to create visual textures.

05. Calligram

They say ‘a picture speaks a thousand words.’ Artists literally do that by creating a composition using numerous words, letters and symbols called Calligrams. By furthering the use of typography, calligrams let you make the arrangement of words / letters more creatively and transform them into an impressive picture. With this theme let your creativity break rigid alignments and transcend into fluid forms.

Your Script, Your Interpretation, Your Creation

Participants may work with any Indian script or combine multiple Indian scripts within a single composition. Your work should be original and can be traditional, contemporary, experimental, illustrative, abstract or a unique combination of different approaches.

We encourage you to explore:

Original interpretations of the selected theme
Traditional and contemporary calligraphic techniques
Expressive use of Indian scripts
Innovative tools, materials, textures and surfaces
Meaningful relationships between text and imagery
Rhythm, movement, emotion, scale, texture and colour
New ways of presenting text as visual art

We will evaluate the strength of your idea, the originality of your interpretation, uniqueness of the chosen style, tools and the manner in which your chosen script / scripts become part of the artistic expression.

Download Submission Guidelines